Guides · For founders & HR leaders
How to Structure GPA & GTL Cover for Your Team
Group personal accident (GPA) and group term life (GTL) protect different risks — accident-specific loss and any-cause death. Designing them well comes down to a few decisions: the sum insured and CTC multiple, the free cover limit, grade banding, and matching cover to the roles your team actually does.
Last updated 13-Jul-2026
What you are actually designing
GPA and GTL are not competing products — they answer two different questions. GPA asks what if an employee has an accident, paying a lump sum for accidental death and a range of disability benefits. GTL asks what if an employee dies, from any cause, paying the family a lump sum that replaces lost income. A good benefits stack usually carries both, sized independently.
The design work is deciding the sum insured for each, how the free cover limit shapes GTL, and how to band cover across grades and roles. Get those right and the cover is proportionate, affordable and genuinely useful when a claim comes. For where these sit against health cover, see GMC vs GPA vs GTL.
The six decisions that shape the plan
Work each of these against your own headcount, salary spread and role mix — not by default. Together they turn two products into a plan tuned to your team.
GPA sum insured — the CTC multiple
GPA cover is usually set as a multiple of annual CTC (commonly 5×–20×), so the accident payout scales with each person’s income. Every accident benefit draws from this single figure.
Rule of thumb: 10× CTC is a sensible default for mixed teams; lift it for higher-risk roles.
GTL sum assured
Group term life is typically 1–3× annual CTC, paid to the nominee on death from any cause. It sits above the statutory EDLI baseline and gives families genuine income replacement.
Rule of thumb: Match the sum assured to the years of income a family would need to replace.
The free cover limit (FCL)
For GTL, the FCL is the sum assured each employee gets without medical tests. Keep most of the team within it and only the excess for senior staff needs underwriting.
Rule of thumb: A larger team earns a higher FCL — design the formula to stay under it.
Disability benefits in GPA
GPA pays for permanent total, permanent partial and temporary disablement — not just death. For most teams disability is the more likely outcome, so weight it properly.
Rule of thumb: Check the partial-disability schedule and the weekly benefit cap, not just the SI.
Grade banding
Both covers can be banded by grade — e.g. leadership at a higher multiple than general staff — so cover tracks income without over-buying a uniform high sum insured for everyone.
Rule of thumb: Two or three bands usually capture the spread without adding admin complexity.
Matching cover to roles
Field, logistics, manufacturing and on-site roles carry accident risk a desk team does not. GPA earns its keep there; GTL matters most as salaries and dependants grow across the whole team.
Rule of thumb: Prioritise GPA for high-exposure roles; scale GTL with seniority and dependants.
Match the cover to the risk each role runs
A field-sales, logistics or on-site engineering team carries accident risk a desk-bound team does not — which is exactly what GPA is built for, and why a higher CTC multiple and stronger disability benefits are worth it there. For those roles, read the partial-disability schedule and the weekly disablement cap carefully.
GTL, by contrast, matters across the whole team and grows in importance with salaries and dependants. A sole earner with young children needs a larger multiple of income replaced than a junior employee with no dependants. Band the sum assured so cover follows both seniority and family responsibility.
A seven-step design checklist
Work through these in order — each step assumes the one before it is settled, so the plan builds up logically rather than being assembled from defaults.
Start from the risk, not the product
List what each cover is for: GPA removes the income shock of an accidental death or disability; GTL replaces income for a family on any-cause death. Decide which risks your team is most exposed to before you size anything.
Set the GPA sum insured as a CTC multiple
Pick a multiple that keeps the accident payout proportionate to income — 10× is a common baseline. Remember this one figure sets the ceiling for death, permanent disability and the weekly benefit alike.
Size GTL to years of income replacement
Think in terms of how many years of salary a family would need if the earner died. 1–3× CTC is typical; higher for sole earners with young dependants. This sits above the EDLI statutory benefit.
Design the formula to stay within the free cover limit
Check the FCL your group size supports and keep most employees under it, so they are covered from day one with no medical tests. Plan a short underwriting step only for the few senior staff above it.
Band by grade where the spread is wide
If salaries range widely, use two or three grade bands rather than a single uniform sum insured. Cover tracks income, and you avoid over-buying for junior roles or under-covering senior ones.
Weight GPA disability benefits, not just death
Read the permanent partial-disability schedule and the temporary weekly benefit and its cap. Disability is the more common accident outcome, so a plan that only pays well on death leaves the likelier gap open.
Run both on one flexible membership
Administering GPA and GTL as separate annual policies with separate renewals is where the effort goes. Putting them on one monthly membership lets you add and remove people mid-cycle as you hire.
A worked example: a 50-person company
Illustrative only — the reasoning matters more than the figures. Swap in your own team’s numbers.
A 50-person company has an engineering core, a field-sales team and a small leadership group. It designs GPA and GTL together, banded by grade and role:
GPA — field & on-site roles
Higher accident exposure
GPA — all other staff
Solid baseline accident cover
GTL — whole team
Within the free cover limit
The field team gets a higher GPA multiple to reflect real accident risk, everyone else a strong baseline, and GTL runs at 2× CTC across the whole company — set so the large majority sit within the free cover limit and are covered from day one with no medical tests. Only the two most senior salaries exceed the FCL and need a short underwriting step. With Onsurity, both covers sit on one monthly membership, so the company adds or removes people mid-cycle without juggling separate renewals.
Frequently asked questions
Should we buy GPA or GTL first?
It depends on your team’s risk. If you have field, logistics, manufacturing or on-site roles, group personal accident (GPA) often comes first because accident exposure is real and the premium is low relative to the cover. Group term life (GTL) becomes more important as salaries and dependants grow across the whole team. Many employers run both, since they cover different risks — accident-specific loss versus any-cause death.
What sum insured should GPA and GTL carry?
GPA is usually 5×–20× of annual CTC (10× is a common default), so the accident payout tracks income. GTL is typically 1–3× annual CTC, sized to the years of income a family would need to replace. Both can be banded by grade so cover follows seniority without over-buying a uniform high sum insured for everyone.
How does the free cover limit affect the design?
The free cover limit (FCL) is the GTL sum assured each employee gets without medical tests. A well-designed formula keeps most of the team within the FCL, so they are covered from day one with no paperwork, and only the excess for a few senior employees needs a short underwriting step. A larger team generally earns a higher FCL.
Do GPA and GTL need separate policies and renewals?
Traditionally yes, which is where most of the administrative effort comes from. Onsurity puts group personal accident and group term life on a single monthly membership managed from one dashboard, so you add or remove employees mid-cycle and avoid juggling separate annual renewals.
Are GPA and GTL premiums tax-deductible for the company?
Generally yes. Premiums a company pays to insure its employees under GPA or GTL are typically allowable business expenses under Section 37(1) of the Income Tax Act. This is general guidance — confirm the treatment for your business with your chartered accountant.
Design GPA & GTL that fit your team
Get a quote and an Onsurity advisor will help you set the sum insured, grade bands and free cover limit — with both covers on one monthly membership.
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