When someone is applying for life insurance, one of the things taken into consideration by insurance agencies, apart from the condition of the applicant’s health, is their occupation. Obtaining a life insurance policy can be a little more challenging for applicants with certain occupations compared to others. Being a construction worker is one occupation for which obtaining life insurance can be a bit difficult. However, if you are a construction worker, having a life insurance policy is vital for you, and here is a list of factors that explains why.

Lack of Employer-Sponsored Life Insurance

One of the main reasons you should ideally have a personal life insurance plan is that your employer might not offer one. If you are someone who works through a union, though, you might be able to get a life insurance plan. However, if you live in a non-union state, this will leave you entirely on your own to secure a plan for yourself. In a few cases where employers offer life insurance plans, the compensation offered by these plans will leave you seriously underinsured considering your occupational hazard and the needs of your family. Typically, a life insurance plan provided by employers will provide coverage of up to $200,000. In the unfortunate instance that you pass away, your family might not even be able to recover the entire amount that your plan entitles you to. This is dependent on if you suffered an incident on or off the job which can determine the amount of compensation that will be due to your family.

A High Table Rating

This is what allows insurance underwriters to come up and define the kind of risk of death associated with the occupation of an applicant in addition to other factors. A higher table rating indicates a higher risk of death, while a low table level means that there is a relatively lower risk of death of a potential insurance customer. The professionals at MoneyMash recommend individuals who are interested in understanding which plans work best consult expert accountants to explore possible options in relation to their table ratings. Construction workers might be at a disadvantage compared to other individuals who have a lower risk of dying on the job as their insurance premiums will be significantly higher than those who work in a job with lower risk levels.

High Risk of Injury At The Workplace

Some occupations bring a host of risks with them due to the fact that they expose their employees to situations where the chances of them getting hurt are relatively higher than in other occupations. For example, a school teacher is much less likely to get seriously injured at their job than a construction worker who has to work in an environment with very compromised safety. Even if the employer has provided all possible equipment to enhance safety and developed standard operating procedures to minimize accidents on-site, the chances of them getting hurt are still higher than that of a school teacher.

Risk of a Fall

If you are a construction worker that is responsible for working on the roof of a new building being constructed, you will be relying on equipment that includes ladders, ropes, and harnesses. If there is some kind of slippage or malfunctioning equipment, there could be a serious risk of a fall. Accidents of this nature happen to approximately 34% of all construction workers each year.

Dangerous Exposure to Electricity

Regardless of whether you specialize in electric function or not, there’s really no avoiding it because everything revolves around the use of electricity in one way or another. This means that there are always electrical equipment and wires involved. If you’re exposed to any kind of electrocution, you could experience an electrical shock that could prove to be fatal.

Machinery with Defects

People who work in construction will usually be working with heavy industrial equipment and power tools at their job. In instances where the machinery that they are using malfunctions or if human error is involved, there could be a risk of serious injury as a result.

Explosions or Fire

Unfinished piping, gas leaks, and electrical work can potentially lead to an explosion or a fire occurring on location, and that could also pose a threat to the safety and security of construction workers.

Being a construction worker is a job that comes with a lot of occupational hazards. It is unfortunate that not many employers are willing to provide comprehensive insurance plans to their employees if any. For this reason, it is advisable that you explore all possible options for a private life insurance plan so that if anything ever happens to you, your family will not be left uncompensated. Another form of insurance to consider is income protection, which pays you to cover the days you could not report to work due to an injury. Combining both policies gives better assurance shall unprecedented events take place.