Whether you are a stay-at-home mom or an expecting mom, you need life insurance. Many women think that they don’t need life insurance because they are not the breadwinners in their family. This is a big mistake. Stay-at-home moms provide a lot of valuable services to their families and society as a whole. Their death would create a lot of financial hardship for their loved ones. Expecting moms have even more reasons to get life insurance. They will likely be staying home with their new baby for at least the first few months after giving birth. In this blog post, we will discuss why stay-at-home moms and expecting moms need life insurance and how to get it.
What Type of Life Insurance Coverage Do New Parents Need?
Before figuring out what kind of coverage you need, you first have to understand how much death benefit you need to protect your family. You can do an easy calculation online with this Life Happens Life Insurance Needs Calculator.
Then you can move on to what kind of coverage—term or permanent—meets your needs. An advantage of term life insurance is that it costs less than permanent, at least initially. This makes it affordable for young families that may not have a lot of disposable income, but have a large need for coverage. Permanent insurance provides both lifelong coverage and a cash accumulation feature. This can be a valuable source of money that you can tap in the future.
Often, the best solution can be a combination of term and permanent life insurance. The term policy can give you extra coverage during the years when the children are at home, with the permanent policy offering lifelong coverage. While a stay-at-home mom isn’t compensated for her work … it would be expensive to replace all those things she does.
Do Working Moms Need Different Coverage?
Both working and stay-at-home moms need protection because what they do for their families is so valuable. While a stay-at-home mom isn’t compensated for her work, if something were to happen to her, it would be expensive to replace all those things she does—from childcare to home care to ensuring the family gets where they need to go when they have to be there.
The difference between the two is that a working mother also contributes an income, which may be critical to the family financially. That means she needs to think about replacing that income when considering how much life insurance coverage she may need.
Does Your Company Offer Any?
Group insurance is a great benefit to have, but it’s limited in a number of ways. First, the coverage is often a lump sum, such as $50,000, or it may be one to two times your salary. That may sound like a lot of money, but my question to you is: Honestly, how long would that money last? And what would happen to your family financially after that was gone?
Second, when you leave that job, you generally lose that coverage. If you don’t have an individual policy that you own, you’ll be leaving your family at risk. Think of how many times people change jobs, and you’ll quickly realize that group coverage, which is limited in scope and amount, is not a proper life insurance plan.
What If You Are Currently Pregnant?
If it’s early in your pregnancy, and there are no medical complications, you should be able to get life insurance. If you’re farther along and there are medical issues, it may difficult to obtain. The life insurance company may want to wait until after your child is born. That’s why I advise those that are planning to have children to get the coverage as soon as possible.
How Much Will it Cost?
How much you pay for life insurance is based on a number of things but most importantly age and health. So, it depends on how old and how healthy you are! But here’s an example: A healthy 30-year-old woman could get $250,000 in life insurance coverage (for a 20-year level term policy for a nonsmoker) for about $13 a month. That’s certainly a lot of peace of mind for $13.
And don’t forget about your spouse or partner. The two of you could get $500,000 of combined coverage (using the example of two 30-year-olds that each get a $250,000 20-year level term policy) for right around $26 a month.
And my last piece of advice: talking with a life insurance agent at this stage can be very valuable. They can do a needs assessment and come up with the right type and amount of life insurance that works for your family budget. And what many people don’t realize is that an agent will sit down and offer this advice free of charge, with no strings attached. If you’d like help finding a life insurance professional, give us a call.