Why on earth do *I* need life insurance, when I’ve been a stay home mom for just about 8 years now? I haven’t been a source of income for our family, so why would life insurance be something we need? Thanks to my Ambassadorship with Genworth, who sponsors this series of posts, I’ve been learning more and more about important financial issues (long term care, mortgage insurance, caregivers, women and finances and more), I’ve learned that just because I haven’t been a “breadwinner” in our family doesn’t mean I should not have a life insurance policy.
Photo credit: Jennifer Mirock Photography www.mirockphotography.com
This is another one of the conversations that we need to have with our loved ones that isn’t going to be full of warm fuzzies, fun, or necessarily comfortable to have. There are many articles that speak specifically about having stay at home parents carry life insurance policies. I won’t lie, I had no idea. Obviously I am well aware of the contributions made by the parent who stays home full time. I’ve been that parent. But it never occurred to me that those contributions, when gone, would have such a huge impact.
If something were to happen to me, all of the things I do would be left for my husband to do- which means more time doing things, more stress, for HIM. It would also mean he’d have even less time to be with our children. Obviously, in the likelihood that something did happen to me, there would be grief and shock and mourning for my husband and all three of the kids- which to us, is what he’d want to be focusing on- trying to help the kids learn to live with the changes in their lives, and to learn to be a family of four without me there. It’s not pretty to think about. It’s not fun. I get very anxious when I think about it- but that’s why it’s important to have plans made and life insurance in place. Then the costs of a funeral, childcare, housekeeping, etc. are at least in part taken care of so that it’s not an additional burden on what will likely be a very overstressed family.
As a mom, I feel like my job is to work myself out of a job (paraphrased by a very wise mom named Laurie I know)…if I do my mom job right, I’ll get my kids to be strong, independent adults who can function without me by their side. Part of that “job” has to be to take care of everything that I’m able to do- and that does include the not fun parts of life. The sad, the scary. The unknown. Be prepared, and hopefully never use the life insurance. The alternative scares me because I’ll be leaving my family unprepared. Now that I know how important my contributions are on a financial level, I feel like it’s my responsibility to have that life insurance in place to cover those contributions so I don’t leave my family in a mess.
Do you have life insurance? Do you agree that stay home parent should have life insurance as well?
This post is brought to you by our friends at Genworth. Opinions are my own.
Vicky says
I recently acquired a position with a financial planner and instantly felt like I was in another world!! I had no idea that there were so many options for life insurance. We have coverage but our teenage children don’t. Not only are we in the process of re-working our personal insurance to something more affordable (that also includes critical illness) but we’re also looking at funding policies for our children. Who knew that insurance can have so many uses?!?…
Good read!
I’m glad to know that I’m not the only one who avoided those uncomfortable conversations….
Stefani says
I had life insurance back when I had an employer. This isn’t something I have now, but definitely need a policy.
Ann Marie @ whitehouseblackshutters says
My husband works for an insurance company so I do know we are covered, but it is so important! More people need to have this discussion.
Liran @ ChooseTerm says
I recently blogged about this topic as well. Besides the “economic” value that stay at home moms provide- such as taking care of the kids, etc.. having a life insurance policy will give your spouse options he otherwise would not have. For example maybe he’ll want to work less hours and spend more time with the kids, or maybe he’ll want to take some time off to help the kids with such a tragic event. While no amount of money will bring mom back, having a lump sum of money in the bank will give dad options he otherwise would not have.
Kristyn says
i believe my hubby has life insurance from the military but i dont believe that i do i should look more into it and educate myself further on it 😉
Juliek says
You know you make a good point! I never thought about all the things hubby would have to deal with if I passed! 🙁
Dawn Lopez says
I always looked at life insurance as something for older people, but I am beginning to realize that I am that older person and it’s extremely important! Thanks for bringing up such an important topic!
Liz @ A Nut in a Nutshell says
I think all adults should probably have life insurance so that those left behind aren’t saddled with the expense of burial, funeral, etc. There should at least be a policy to cover those kinds of things.
Beeb Ashcroft says
I absolutely agree that the financial contributions of a stay-at-home-parent as so important. People dismiss SAHMs and SAHDs so easily and it makes me mad. Just think of all the money that would have to be spent on childcare and other household tasks without the SAH parent.
Daisy says
We need to look into this. Now that we have our son, I know that it is important.
Danielle @ We Have It All says
We have life insurance on all everyone – all 8 of us. Before Mike & I got married, he had a 3 year old who passed away. We spent many years making payments to finish paying off the expenses from her death. Not a topic I like discussing, but one that is very important.
Janel says
I have life insurance on me. In fact, I have a pretty big policy. If I were to die, my husband would need to hire help to watch our 4 little boys and it would be really expensive to replace me. I think life insurance is extremely important!!
Laura says
With the birth of our second child we bought insurance. It is definatly a difficult subject, but one that needs to be addressed. Same with a will!
Jenilee says
I don’t have life insurance, I really DO need it, though since I am the breadwinner. :/ It’s hard to add another expense into our budget, though.
Angela says
Life insurance is definitely a must. I think a lot of people who don’t have it might just be surprised by how affordable a term policy can be.
Ashley - Embracing Beauty says
Life insurance is an ugly topic to think about but an important thing to have. I think everyone should have it.
Jamie says
I totally agree every parent should have life insurance. You never know when something may happen and it’s always better to be prepared!!
Pam says
We have life insurance on both me and Bryan. I hope we never need it but it is good to have just in case.
Lynsey @MoscatoMom says
Absolutely. I think every adult should have life insurance – cause we simply just never know. And the costs involved with death will fall on SOMEONE – if not your children than your parents, spouse, etc.
Tesa @ 2 Wired 2 Tired says
It’s definitely not fun to think about but life insurance is very important and I’m glad you pointed out the reasons why. This reminds me that we have to look into our life insurance policy to review everything, it’s been awhile.
Jennifer says
Ugh, yes, this is a very hard topic, but necessary to discuss. Neither of us have life insurance yet, either. We also don’t have kids yet, so that makes a difference. Even though… I think we are both needed to make our bills every month!