Women provide for their children, take care of husbands and elderly parents and give of themselves in ways too numerous to count. Their loss would be devastating for a family. In recognition of this, we spoke to the experts about the different kinds of cover that women at different stages of their lives should have. For peace of mind that your family is cared for, no matter what the future holds for you, this is what you need to know.
With nobody financially dependent on you, you are under no obligation to take out life cover (although some lenders make it a condition of granting credit). However, if you’d like to leave your family your car, apartment and big TV, but you still owe some money on these, then you can get life insurance or credit life insurance to cover the outstanding debts. And as young and healthy as you might feel, you should not overlook the need for dread disease cover and disability insurance.
While the primary concern for women when taking out life insurance is their children, it’s important to recognise the financial contribution that you make to your partner or husband as well. Whether you split the expenses or you are the primary breadwinner, your income makes a huge difference in his life, so make sure that you have the life and dread disease cover as well as disability insurance that you need.
If you are married and contribute to the total income of your household, it is vitally important that you have life insurance. Your pay-out should total your contribution to household finances over the remaining years that your children will be financially dependent. Don’t forget to include education, including tertiary, in your calculations.
You also need to consider dread disease cover and disability insurance to cover unplanned expenses and loss of income should you fall ill or become disabled.
Don’t underestimate the financial contribution that a “housewife” makes to a household. In your absence, many of the little labours of love you do so willingly would become costs that your family would have to cover. These include school lifts, homework assistance, shopping and preparing family meals, general admin for your husband and children and the costs of running and cleaning your home.
Because of all of this, even if you have no direct income now, it is important that you have life cover, disability insurance and dread disease cover to address the financial shortfall that your family could experience if you fall ill, become disabled or pass away.
Just as you want to leave a financial legacy behind for your children and life partner, if you have other family members who are dependent on you it would be terrible to compound your loss with financial worries. Calculate your financial contribution to their wellbeing, as well as the cost of support services that they would have to take on in your absence.
At 1Life, we know that women are special because of the financial and emotional support they offer those around them. We aim to provide the financial support so that you can continue to look after those around you without having any fears for the uncertain future.
Complete our financial needs analysis for an affordable, tailored financial plan which ensures your life is covered with investments and life, dread and disability insurance.