At one stage or another, every family considers life insurance. Life insurance is about providing financial protection if something was to go wrong. Probably the second big consideration that families make is whether or not it makes sense for someone who isn’t a breadwinner to get life insurance. It’s fair enough to wonder if it’s worth the extra expense. The principle logic here is that it should replace the primary breadwinner’s income and since the stay-at-home parent doesn’t have an income it doesn’t make sense. This, however, is a misconception.
There are plenty of reasons why both parents should have life insurance and there are loads of options for them that won’t break the bank. Here are some of the biggest considerations you should be making when considering life insurance for a stay-at-home parent.
Childcare Costs
This is probably one of the biggest costs to look at when considering life insurance. A stay-at-home parent can make sure that a child is looked after. If that parent was to pass away there would still need to be at least one breadwinner in the family. This then means looking into paying for childcare. The costs will depend on what age your child is but even looking at the costs of sending a child to a nursery full time is about £263 per week. This kind of expense is something that most families wouldn’t be able to take on at short notice. Unfortunately, as the children get older you have to take into account other costs like childcare and managing family appointments. With life insurance, there can be help there to manage these kinds of costs in the short and long term.
Funeral Costs
Talking about death can be very difficult, especially when you have a young family. It’s not something that a lot of us have to deal with, fortunately, but it can be helpful to be prepared. Unfortunately, in the UK funeral costs have been steadily rising in the last number of years. We would all hope that we can give our loved ones the send-off they deserve. However, with high funeral costs, finding that kind of money lying around isn’t viable for a lot of families. It can mean turning to things like loans and credit cards in order to pay for funeral costs. Trying to manage these costs at a time of high stress and emotion can be too much for some families to bear. Life insurance can provide the help of financial support for costs like these.
Help with debts
Starting a family can be a costly investment. It can mean getting things like mortgages and large loans in order to get things going. Making a house into a home isn’t cheap but it can be worth it in the end. This can mean getting into debt, and managing this debt is something that many families might be doing right now. After a parent passes away there can be a big increase in the number of costs in the family budget. Attempting to manage outstanding debts on top of this can push families to breaking point. These kinds of costs are what life insurance is intended to help with. While it might not pay these loans off, it can give a big leg up on managing that time period after someone has passed away. As we have mentioned already it can be tough to discuss death, but being prepared can be a huge help to your loved ones.
What kind of insurance should parents consider?
Luckily if you want to get life insurance, it doesn’t have to break the bank. There are plenty of options with Smart Insurance. Even if your budget is a little tight, there are some reasonable options available to you and your family.
Smart Family Life Insurance
If you live in the UK and are aged 18 - 64, Smart Family Life Insurance can help you provide financial protection to your loved ones. Depending on your age you can choose a benefit amount from £60,000 up to £750,000. You have to complete any medicals you will just be asked a few health and lifestyle questions. There are optional covers that you can add on as well such as children’s cover or critical illness cover.
Smart Guaranteed Life Insurance
Another option available to you and your family is Smart Guaranteed Life Insurance. This insurance policy is available to UK residents aged 30 to 80. As long as you fall into these categories, you are guaranteed acceptance. There are no health questions and you won’t have to provide a medical. Another feature of this policy is that if your death is as a result of an accident, your loved ones could receive 3 times the benefit amount. Cover ranges from £2,000 up to £20,000 depending on your age. There are no increases in the premium amounts either so you can plan ahead.
Consider all of your options with Smart Insurance
It’s never easy contemplating death and there never seems to be the right time to start discussing it. However, grabbing the bull by the horns and exploring your options when it comes to life insurance is an important first step. We all want the best for our loved ones, so having a plan in place can be a huge help. If you’d like to explore your options and get the process started, we are here to help you.
