the truth about life insurance for women
Ladies, were you aware that life insurance is different for you than for the men?
When it comes to choosing a plan and planning for the future, you don’t want to leave anything on the table.
Make sure you’re fully aware of what life insurance is like and what options you have as a woman.
Here are 8 major things to know about life insurance for women.
Photo- Zoosk.com
1. No Income? No Worries for Life insurance for women
Understandably, many women, especially stay at home mothers, wrongly assume that because they technically have “no income” they do not qualify for life insurance.
This is wrong!
Not only have you likely been doing much of the heavy lifting at home with changing endless diapers and staying up nights, but all that work is worth a lot when it comes to the potential cost of replacing you and your contributions.
Yea, you read that right. You are worth a lot.
Over $100,000 to be exact if you are a stay at home mom. Salary.com estimates the work a mother in the home does is at least $100,000.
Getting the right kind of life insurance will ensure that this value is covered in case your family is suddenly without you and the value you provide at home.
2. Life Insurance is Cheaper for the Gals
Women are proven to have a longer life expectancy as a gender. Women are generally viewed as less likely to make foolish decisions, rash or dangerous choices, and they are even biologically wired differently resulting in generally longer lives.
Because of this, the fairer sex is also the less costly sex to insure for life. So, take advantage of your lower costs.
For example, a healthy, 30 something woman might get close to $500,000 for a twenty-year plan at only $15-$20 a month depending on where she gets her plan.
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3. Single Moms Especially Need Insurance
Sometimes it can be hard to remember why you have a life insurance policy when it just seems like another monthly bill. But it’s important to remember that your life insurance policy isn’t for you.
It’s for the people you love most.
This is especially essential for women who are single parents. Having great coverage will ensure that your children are provided for if something happens to you.
If you are the only provider or caregiver, it’s hard to argue the value of making sure your kid’s futures are secure.
4. There are Different Policy Lengths
Ladies, did you realize there are different types of life insurance policies? That’s right, you don’t necessarily have to sign up for the typical permanent life insurance policy.
You may choose to save some money and select a term life insurance policy that can range anywhere from 10 to 30 years. These help you save money on premiums and allow you to select insurance for the years you may need it most.
For example, you may choose to select a premium policy for only the 25 years you think you’ll have dependent children at home.
5. How Much Should You Buy?
One of the first things to figure out is how much life insurance you need to purchase. The best way to begin is to do a little bit of easy math.
You can receive help calculating the following things:
- Unpaid expenses, i.e. debts like mortgages, car payments, loans, bills, etc.
- Your annual salary multiplied by the number of years you hope to cover your family’s needs
Once you add these two main factors together, you should select an insurance policy that covers the sum of these.
Photo- Zoosk.com
6. Life insurance For Single Women
Single women are not excluded from those who may benefit greatly from a solid life insurance policy.
Do you have a large amount of debt? Do you have a parent or grandparent you care for? Do you have a co-signer on a loan or loans?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, a life insurance policy will make sure your interests are taken care of and your “estate” is protected, should something happen.
7. Working Women
Despite the fact that there are more women in the workforce today than any other period in history, women continue to be under-covered as far as life insurance.
The Insurance Information Institute states that 43 percent of women are not covered at all. Come on girls, you have way too much value to not protect it!
Ironically, women with very high salaries, think $100,000 and up, are less likely to be adequately covered by life insurance than their male-salary counterparts.
8. Life Insurance Provides More than Basic Necessities
As morbid as you may feel planning for your own death, funerals tend to be very costly.
Fortunately, a life insurance policy, when chosen well, will help provide financially for those you love. This means not only will you be able to leave them with enough to cover their basic daily needs, but you can include enough coverage to help with large funeral costs. There are organizations that can provide very economical funeral cost, so please check with your state.
Choosing the right plan can not only make sure your family is free from financial burdens upon your death but from the added stress of dealing with money in addition to your loss.
When choosing how large a life insurance policy to purchase, it may also be wise to consider other future expenses your family will have that you would be assisting to pay for.
These types of expenses may include things like weddings, college, or others. When you are calculating how much to purchase for your life insurance policy, these are great items to think about factoring in.
To put it simply, your life insurance policy can cover at the very least your annual salary, but you can do more for your loved ones as well. To get the official life insurance industry view on how much you should have, you can also visit LifeHappens.org
Choosing Life Insurance for Women
You’re now well versed on the essential things to know when it comes to life insurance for women. You know what that means… no excuses for not getting started today.
The earlier in life you select a life insurance policy, the less expensive it is to purchase.
If you still have questions, or simply feel overwhelmed with the decision, contact us today for help.