Stay-at-Home Parents Need Life Insurance Too

Imagine the cost of hiring a part-time housekeeper, a personal chef, a day care provider, a psychologist and a driver.  You’d have to be pretty wealthy, right?  Stay-at-home parents perform all these jobs, and they do it without getting a paycheck.  Sometimes they don’t even get to take a sick day.

Imagine how much money a stay-at-home moms or dads would make if they were paid for their work.  Think about the amount of time spent on housework, cooking, transportation and childcare.  According to a recent study by Salary.com, the average amount of time spent working as a stay-at-home parent is 92 hours per week¹!  Now imagine the loss of a stay-at-home mom or dad – it would be emotionally devastating and could put the family’s financial security at risk.

Not enough time in the day

With one parent working outside the home and the other possibly putting in over 90 hours a week, it’s not surprising that there is little time left to plan for the family’s financial future.  If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone.  While your family’s needs and goals are unique, your battle to find time to protect what you have is shared.

In fact, a survey commissioned by COUNTRY Financial shows most stay-at-home parents (71 percent) think both spouses should be insured.  However just 31 percent of those households actually have life insurance to cover both parents².  Losing a loved one is hard enough.  A family shouldn’t have to suffer financial pain in addition to the emotional pain.

The survey also shows nearly a third of Americans are not insured and only one in five have enough coverage to provide more than three years of their current income.  That’s not enough to maintain a family’s standard of living for very long, while also paying for final expenses such as funeral costs, attorney fees and final medical bills.  The average funeral alone can cost between $6,500 and $10,000³, not including cemetery fees.   

Guidance from a trained professional

Even if time were on your side, balancing your need to protect what you have today with your desire to build for the future isn’t always easy.

If a stay-at-home parent in your household dies, will your family be able to afford the expenses of childcare, housekeeping, and cooking while the surviving parent works outside the home?  One of the most important things you can do to protect your family is to make sure a stay-at-home parent is insured.

If you would like more information on how much life insurance is right for you and your family, please contact me. 

Learn more

• Life insurance FAQs
• COUNTRY life insurance solutions
• How long will you live? Find out with the COUNTRY Age Predictor