Family life insurance plans protect every member of your family, from parents to kids. If you have a two-parent household, it’s important to cover both parents, even if one stays at home. We’ll explain why, and then show you two different ways to cover your children so that every family member is protected.
Here’s what we’ll cover:
Reasons to Insure the Breadwinner
Reasons to Insure a Stay-at-Home Spouse/Partner
Two Ways to Insure Your Kids
Summary: What Next?
➡️ Rather talk to a real person about family life insurance plans? Call us at (800) 823-4852 or click the button below to start with a free term life quote!
Get a Free QuoteReasons to Insure the Breadwinner(s)
If you’re the family breadwinner, it’s especially important for you to have coverage. We tell our clients that if someone depends on you financially, you need life insurance. The same applies if both you and your spouse/partner work – if that income supports your family, it needs to be insured.
If something happened to you or your spouse, how would your loved ones pay the rent or mortgage? How would they afford food, utilities, transportation, health care, and school tuition or supplies? For most families, this is an overwhelming task without life insurance.
When we talk to clients about family life insurance plans, we ask them to think about how much coverage they need based on the answers to these questions:
- How many years of income do you want to replace for your family? There’s no right or wrong answer to this question. We have clients who can only afford to provide a year of income, and others who want to provide enough until the last child turns 18 and leaves the nest. It’s up to you to make the best decision for your budget and your family.
- Will your spouse go to work? If your spouse doesn’t currently work, will they need to enter or re-enter the job market to provide for your family? If so, how long might that job hunt last? As of March 2023, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that most job searches (median unemployment duration) was about 5 months, or 19.5 weeks.* Your family will need a lot of help during the grieving process and while your spouse looks for a job. Consider how long this might take when you’re planning your coverage.
- Do you want your family to stay in their home? We have clients who want their family to be able to stay in their home, no matter what. The best way to do that is to leave enough to pay off the mortgage for them.
- Do you want to leave money for kids’ tuition? Whether it’s private school or college, we have clients who want to leave their kids enough money to get the education they deserve. As of 2023, according to the Education Data Initiative, average tuition for one year of K-12 private school is $12,350. Their estimate for one year of college tuition is $36,436.**
➡️ Rather talk to a real person about family life insurance plans? Call us at (800) 823-4852 or click the button below to start with a free term life quote!
Get a Free QuoteReasons to Insure a Stay-at-Home Spouse/Partner
Comprehensive family life insurance plans also include a policy for the parent or partner who stays home with the kids. Think of all the jobs they do around the house to keep your family running: childcare, cooking, cleaning, laundry, errands, helping the kids with their homework…the list goes on and on. What most people don’t realize is how much it would cost to replace those services if your spouse or partner passed away.
According to Salary.com, the median annual salary for all the jobs a stay-at-home spouse does would be $184,820.^
How’d they get that number? They surveyed over 19,000 moms to get an idea of what they do, and then compared those jobs to current salary data. Their survey also revealed that stay-at-home parents work about 106 hours per week: that’s a 15 hour a day every day of the week.
What does this number mean? That’s how much it might cost to pay for outside help to do all the things your stay-at-home spouse or partner does now. If that number makes you gasp, imagine trying to pay for it…on your current salary. That’s why all family life insurance plans need to take both adults into consideration, not just the breadwinner.
➡️ Rather talk to a real person about family life insurance plans? Call us at (800) 823-4852 or click the button below to start with a free term life quote!
Get a Free QuoteTwo Ways to Insure Your Kids
As you’re making your family life insurance plans, keep in mind that there are two ways to insure your kids:
- With a child rider on your policy (or your spouse/partner’s). Most insurers offer a child rider, which means you can add coverage for your all kids to your own policy. Depending on the insurer, this may be free or there may be an extra charge (usually less than $10/month). One rider will usually cover all of your kids, including stepchildren, adopted children, and any you may have in the future.
Each child’s coverage will be less than yours – usually $10,000 or $20,000 per child. This amount is intended to pay for funeral and burial expenses, since children don’t usually earn income or have debt that would need to be paid off. If you have an exception – such as a child who earns income through YouTube – they may need their own policy. Every insurer will have their own specifications for how long they’ll cover children under a child rider. In most cases, they will be covered until age 25 or until you turn 65 or 75. - With their own policy. You can also buy child-specific whole life policies, but keep in mind they can be expensive. The main reason to do this is to provide your child with a policy they’ll have until they pass away. Your child will be covered no matter their health, which is one potential reason to consider getting them their own policy. If they were to develop health issues as a teen or young adult, that might make getting covered later difficult and/or expensive. However, since that’s relatively rare, in most cases it’s easier and more affordable to cover children using a child rider on your own policy.
➡️ Rather talk to a real person about family life insurance plans? Call us at (800) 823-4852 or click the button below to start with a free term life quote!
Get a Free QuoteSummary
Family life insurance plans generally have three components:
- Policy for the breadwinner(s)
- Policy for the stay-at-home spouse
- Child coverage through riders on a parent’s policy OR their own policy that will stay with them throughout their life
We can help you find the right policies at the right prices for each member of the family. The best way to move forward? Give us a call and tell us a little about your situation. Once we know who you want to cover and how much income needs to be replaced, we can search for policies that offer the coverage you need at a price that fits your budget.
➡️ Call us at (800) 823-4852 or click the button below to start with a free term life quote!
Get a Free Quote*Indeed.com, “How Long Does It Take To Find a Job?,” accessed 10/18/23
**Education Data Initiative, “Average Cost of Private School” and “Average Cost of College & Tuition,” accessed 10/18/23
^Salary.com, “How Much is a Mom Really Worth? The Amount May Surprise You,” accessed 10/18/23