PolicySolutionsLife insurance when you work for yourself.
When you're self-employed, there's no HR department quietly enrolling you in a group life plan. There's also often a business that leans heavily on one person — you. That makes an individual policy less of a nice-to-have and more of a foundation.
In short: Self-employed, 1099, freelance, and gig workers have no employer group life plan, so if anyone depends on your income there is no safety net unless you buy your own. Term life is usually the efficient base — the most coverage for the lowest premium, sized to replace your income and clear your debts — and because you own the policy it moves with you regardless of clients or gigs. Irregular income is not a disqualifier: underwriters generally look at your typical earnings over time, commonly reviewing a couple of years of tax returns and net business income. Business-owned policies can separately fund a buy-sell agreement, insure a key person, or serve as collateral a lender requires — but where the business owns the policy and is a beneficiary, the death benefit is generally income-tax-free only if the IRC §101(j) notice-and-consent was signed before the policy was issued.
No employer means the plan is entirely yours to build.
Millions carry their household's income with no group coverage behind them — and it's the most overlooked gap in self-employment.
Self-employed workers in the U.S. — incorporated and unincorporated — carrying their income with no employer safety net.
— U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsOf private-industry employees have access to group life through work — a backstop the self-employed simply don't get.
— U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employee Benefits in the United States, March 2025 (Table 5)Of private-industry workers at firms with fewer than 100 employees have access to employer life insurance at all — the smaller the business, the thinner the backstop.
— U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employee Benefits in the United States, March 2025 (Table 5)What's different for the self-employed
No employer safety net
Traditional employees usually have at least some group coverage. As a 1099 worker or owner, whatever protection your family has is whatever you set up yourself — which means the gap is easy to overlook until it matters.
Your income is the business
If the business revolves around you, your death doesn't just cut household income — it can stop the business's income too. Personal coverage keeps your family steady while they decide what happens next.
Debts can be personal
Many owners personally guarantee loans, leases, or lines of credit. Life insurance can retire that debt so it doesn't land on your family or force a fire sale of the business.
Irregular income is fine
Underwriting looks at your typical earnings, not a single pay stub. A licensed agent helps you document income so a variable schedule doesn't hold up your application.
How underwriters read self-employed income
Variable earnings are normal and insurable. Knowing what a carrier looks at makes the application smooth.
They average over time
Rather than a single month, underwriters typically consider your earnings over the last year or two — smoothing out the natural ups and downs of self-employment.
Tax returns tell the story
Net business income from your returns (for example Schedule C or a K-1) is the usual reference point. Having a couple of years documented speeds approval.
Coverage tied to real need
The amount you qualify for is anchored to your income and obligations — which is exactly why documenting a strong, steady picture helps you secure the coverage you need.
We handle the paperwork
An independent agent matches you to carriers comfortable with self-employment income and helps assemble the documentation, so a variable schedule never becomes the reason an application stalls.
Coverage worth knowing about
Personal income protection
Start here: a term life policy sized to replace your income and clear your debts. It's the most coverage for the lowest cost.
Key-person & buy-sell
If you have partners or employees, business-owned policies can fund a buy-sell agreement or replace a key person's value — a separate conversation from personal coverage. See business-owner coverage →
Permanent options
Some owners use IUL or whole life for lifelong coverage and a cash-value component — useful when you've maxed other tax-advantaged savings.
Frequently asked questions
Do self-employed and 1099 workers need coverage?
Often more than most — no employer group plan means no safety net for anyone who depends on your income. Term life is usually the efficient base and is typically affordable for a healthy self-employed person. You own the policy, so it moves with you across clients and gigs.
How is irregular income underwritten?
Underwriters generally look at your typical earnings over a year or two, not a single month — commonly reviewing tax returns and net business income (Schedule C or K-1). A variable schedule doesn't disqualify you; documenting income clearly keeps the application moving.
Can it protect my business too?
Yes — beyond personal income replacement, business-owned policies can fund a buy-sell between partners, insure a key person, or serve as loan collateral. Ownership drives the tax treatment: where the business owns the policy and is a beneficiary, it is an employer-owned contract under IRC §101(j)(3), and the death benefit is generally income-tax-free only if the notice-and-consent requirements of IRC §101(j)(4) were satisfied in writing before the policy was issued — a step that cannot be fixed afterward. Without them, the exclusion is capped at the premiums paid and the rest is taxable to the business (IRC §101(j)(1)). Structure these with your CPA or tax attorney — see business-owner coverage.
Term or permanent when I work for myself?
For most, term is the efficient base — the most coverage for the lowest premium, sized to replace income and clear debts. Permanent options (whole life, IUL) can layer in later for lifelong coverage or tax-deferred cash value — tax-deferred is not tax-free, and taking money out can be taxable (IRC §72(e)) — which some owners value without an employer retirement plan. This is education, not tax advice.
Build the safety net your employer never gave you.
Run your number, then let a licensed agent compare carriers and handle the income documentation for you.
Work out my number →No call-center pile-on. Here's exactly what to expect.
You reached out, so a real licensed agent picks it up — not a rotating call center, and never a sale you don't need.
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A licensed agent reaches out
We aim to reach you the same business day — someone licensed where you live, who answers your questions straight.
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A few honest questions
Enough to understand your situation and match you to the partner carrier that treats it most favorably. If it isn't a fit, we'll tell you.
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Real options — your call
We compare carriers and show you what actually fits. No pressure, no obligation; you decide if and when.
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Covered, with a safety net
If you move forward, a free-look period lets you review the real policy and change your mind for a full refund — a limited window that starts when the policy is delivered to you. Most states set a minimum length; where a state sets none, the window your insurer prints on the policy controls.
Realistic timelines: approval times vary by product and by carrier. Policies underwritten from health questions alone are typically much faster. Fully underwritten policies take longer — they require a medical exam and a records review. Your agent will tell you which path your application is on and what to expect. Any estimate you see online is a ballpark. Your real rate comes from a licensed agent comparing carriers for your exact age and health.