You may not be the breadwinner in your family but should you have life insurance anyway? It’s a big yes from us!
The hidden cost of a stay-at-home parent
Have you ever considered just how much it would cost to pay someone to do everything that a stay-at-home parent does?
Any mum or dad will tell you that they are incessantly changing hats over the course of a day! From cook to nurse, driver to event planner, counsellor to stylist… it’s a varied job that is never done.
Salary.com carry out an annual Mom Salary Survey (it’s linked to Mother’s Day but could apply equally to stay-at-home dads). They interview thousands of mums to estimate the value of a mother’s work based on real-time market prices of all the different jobs they perform.
The estimated median annual salary of a stay-at-home parent in 2020-2021?
That’s a lot of money.
Now imagine someone needing to be paid to do all those jobs because you were no longer around to support your family.
Salary.com’s calculation includes certain jobs which you wouldn’t necessarily hire someone to do, such as logistics analyst and conflicts manager, but you could very well need to hire a nanny, pay for after-school care, employ a tutor and engage a driver to take up the slack with only one full-time working parent in a household.
That’s why we recommend that all families have life insurance for both parents, whether they are working or not.
How much life insurance do stay-at-home parents need?
As you’re not replacing a salary, it might be difficult to work out just how much life insurance you should take for a stay-at-home parent. These are the questions you should consider:
How many children do you have?
How many years will you need childcare for?
What precise jobs might you need someone to cover? The list will differ from one household to the next but could include cooking, cleaning, gardening, managing finances, petcare, laundry, tutor, driver etc.
It’s worth taking some time to think seriously about the help that would be required to keep your children’s lives on an even keel if they lost a parent.
Getting help to work out your life insurance needs
Your family’s life insurance needs are unique to your family and should dovetail with your overall financial plan. There are a myriad of different factors to take into consideration which is why it is wise to consult a financial adviser.
Not only can a professional ensure that you have dotted all the I’s and crossed all the t’s, but they can obtain comparative quotes from a range of providers and point out the differences between policies so that you can make an informed decision on the right policy for you.
As an independent financial services company with offices across Asia, Infinity works with all the major international insurance providers but is tied to none. Our advice is objective and focussed on what is best for you.
Contact us to discuss your life insurance requirements and protect your family against the unexpected, whatever life throws your way.
A leading provider of expat financial services and wealth management services across Asia.
