Changing workplace demographics and an emphasis on technology are transforming the way a largely static group life insurance industry delivers and communicates its products.

As a mature employee benefit that emerged in the early 1900s, most employers offer some form of group life.

According to insurance and financial research association LIMRA International Inc., 60% of employers with at least 10 employees offer a life insurance benefit of some kind. Of those, 65% provide employer-paid coverage. For workforces of more than 1,000 workers, the percentage of employers offering life insurance jumps to more than 90%, according to LIMRA.

Fifty-seven percent of U.S. adults have life insurance coverage, and 19% own only group life insurance obtained through an employer, an April study by LIMRA and nonprofit life insurance education organization Life Happens reported.

Employers who provide life insurance most often offer term coverage, meaning a benefit is guaranteed to the beneficiaries if the insured employee dies during a defined time period. Employers also may offer the option for employee-paid voluntary group life on top of the basic plan.

The percentage of employers paying for group life and the types of coverage provided have remained, for the most part, unchanged for the last several years, statistics show. But because of the multiple generations and the growing cohort of millennials in the workplace, life insurers are rethinking how they package their products.

Historically, life insurance has been thought of as a product meant to protect one's income after death, but as employers have increasingly looked for more value, life insurance has evolved into a “comprehensive, robust offering of services and benefits,” said Brian Lelio, vice president of group life products with MetLife Inc.

Today, life insurers offer group coverage along with extra services such as will preparation, grief counseling, identity theft protection, travel assistance and estate resolution, often at no extra cost.

The goal, said Mr. Lelio, is to shift life insurance away from being seen as a “death benefit” available only when the worker dies, to a “life benefit,” where value is enjoyed while living, he said. That prompts “the employee to think not only about their future needs … but now today's needs.”

It also addresses the problem of how to engage employees who might be putting life insurance on the back burner in favor of other benefits and financial matters, such as paying off student debt.

With millennials now making up the majority of the workforce, technology has become essential to employee engagement with life insurance.

“There's an expectation for technology ... on both ends,” said Richard Kappers, Philadelphia-based director of marketing for Cigna Corp.'s group life insurance business.

Employers expect to use technology for all of their group products to help with reporting, analytics and administration, and workers expect to be able to go online or on their phone to see a claim's status while it's being processed, he said.

Like with health insurance benefits, interactive decision support tools are allowing employees to personalize their life insurance. “Employees want products as well as education that is really tailored to who they are, where they live, what their lifestyle is (and) what their attitudes are,” said Paula Bilitz, St. Paul, Minnesota-based director of group insurance marketing with Securian Financial Group Inc.

And with so many demographics that digest information in different ways and little time for the employer to devote to such education, life insurers have taken on that role, said Steve Schreiber, Wellesley, Massachusetts-based director of product development with Sun Life Financial Inc.

“We're devoting a lot of energy into understanding how we can communicate with different cohorts of employees,” Mr. Schreiber said.

“Employers are focused much more heavily on health plans and making sure they are in compliance with the (Affordable Care Act). That leaves them little time to focus on the other benefits within their benefits package, and that's where the carrier steps in,” he said.

That means providing more than just a life insurance calculator, he said; it means working with the broker and employer to “help them develop and implement a plan so employees are satisfied with the experience that they have.”

“The employee's bombarded with information,” said MetLife's Mr. Lelio. When it comes to encouraging workers to engage with life insurance, “where the trend is now and will only continue to grow is recognizing a multifaceted engagement and communication strategy,” encompassing Web, mobile and face-to-face education, he said.

The more timely and customized the communication, the more effective, he said.