New Professor: Accept Supplemental Life Insurance?

[Hegemony]

The fact that your friends and relations are recommending supplemental life insurance merely suggests that they don't know very much about personal finance.

What would they say you need it for?

Life insurance is for your spouse and dependents, who would lose your income and support if you were to die. If you're the breadwinner of the family, they could be left high and dry without your income. If you were a stay-at-home parent, they would need money to replace what you do — childcare, household help, etc.

If you're single, none of that applies.  The only need for money if you die would be for your funeral costs. That's not going to use up your regular life insurance, so why would your heirs ever need $200,000 more?  Unless they are planning to bump you off and profit from your death, which I gather is unlikely.

If you're thinking you may get married and have offspring in the next few years, you can certainly buy extra life insurance then. It doesn't get expensive until you're much older, unless you have a risky job (airplane pilot, firefighter, etc.). There's no need to spend the money for extra insurance just so you'll have it on board down the line. Sock that money away in an IRA or 403(b) tax-protected retirement investment account, buying index funds from Vanguard or Fidelity. That would be a genuinely worthwhile use of your money.

[Ruralguy]

Most academic jobs (and other non-profits) have a 403b plan and many corporate jobs have 401k's (they are identical by the way. They just have different names because they show in different areas of the tax code).  Use them, especially if there is employer matching, and then try to kick in up to the max depending on your income. IRA's have always seemed to have fairly low caps, so I wasn't really able to ever contribute to much to the IRA I opened decades ago.  Its also always good to have some cash readily available outside of retirement vehicles and such, as well as some long term investments outside of retirement vehicles (they can be conservative--doesn't need to be stocks, though can be).

But life insurance beyond a workplace policy, even if you are married may not be worth it, depending on their income and savings and absolutely dependent on whether you have kids younger than college (after that it can end up being quite a nice departing gift, but possibly less necessary from your perspective). Plus, as others have said, workplace life insurance policies can be pretty reasonable for  the payout they give, so, unless you have a non-working spouse and/or multiple children, more than those provide wouldn't be worth it. Of course if your spouse made 10x more than you, then it would be the spouse's role to take out the million buck policy (though they might also have a generous workplace policy).   

[clean]

Advice so far is spot on.
IF the OP died, no one would be financially hurt. No one is counting on the OP's income stream, so there is no need for insurance. In fact, IF you have a cafeteria plan (and can pick and choose the benefits you need from a package), consider swapping the added life insurance for insurance. 

In your situation, there is no need for life insurance at all. 

Oh to be in my late 20s again....
My advice is to max out your retirement accounts that are transferable (403B/Roth IRAs/ 457 plans).  Pay off your debts as soon as possible, live on less than you make, Never depend on Summer School to make ends meet (summer is always 'bonus' money to dump on debt or splurge with). 

Mostly these are the things I did. I am on track to be ABLE to retire at 60 (if I choose).  I will teach 1 more summer for sure, probably for 2, but after that, never again!  I can choose to do that because I have saved and saved.

Good luck, and congratulations! I hope that you are 'burdened' with 'too much wealth and health' by the time you reach 50 to know how to spend it all!!