Is it s good idea to buy insurance from your place of business? In almost all cases, the answer is no. Kathy Kristoff did an analysis of buying group insurance industry through employers, and it’s a total ripoff. In some cases, people are paying almost 200 percent more for these policies. That’s because people get this insurance without any kind of exam, and companies jack up rates for this reason. The better shape you’re in, the more you’ll save when buying your own policy. It will save you hundreds if not thousands of dollars a year. Just make sure you pass the medical screening tests for an individual policy before you dump the employer plan. Clark likes level term life insurance, where people can buy a policy for 20, 30, 40 years or whatever you need for “replacement of income” for your survivors. Also, it’s a good idea to get quotes on level term from actual insurance salespeople and online.