Why Must Mum’s Have Life Insurance?Here’s a question for you. How much do you think it would cost to hire a personal chef, a chauffeur, a tutor, a cleaner, a nurse’s aide, a therapist, a decorator and a bookkeeper for your family? Far more than you can afford unless you win the Lotto right?
If, however, you are a mother you have probably already realised that we actually just listed just some (but not all) of your day to day responsibilities that are, let’s be honest, efforts that are often taken rather for granted. And yet in 2015 a study – which took into account the real costs charged by real South African providers – estimated that if the average South African mum had to be paid for the work she does her salary would be around R54 770 per month.
Why Must Mum’s Have Life Insurance?
The Value of Mum? What is it?
This is all about more than some fun trivia though. Whether they are stay at home mums or if they – as many South African women do – also go out to work at an outside job too how hard mums work is often seriously under-appreciated. Their families, even though they really love them, kind of expect that dinner will be cooked and clothes will be washed and ironed and gripes and moans listened to because that’s just what mums do. Stay at home mums are often even less appreciated because much of the outside world don’t see what they do as ‘real work’. But we all know it is.
Why Must Mum’s Have Life Insurance?
Just because Mum’s tend to be under-appreciated, mothers often unappreciative of themselves in many ways. One way they under appreciate themselves is via financial protection. Often Dad has a brilliant life insurance policy but Mum doesn’t bother because the money could be better spent elsewhere. But it really couldn’t. We mean, all emotion aside, could your family really find the R54 770 per month (at least) it would cost to replace you if you weren’t around anymore?
Mothers Need Life Insurance Too
So, we have, very clearly we think, established that mothers need life insurance too. But how much and how and where should you buy it?
When it comes to how much life insurance you need there is lots of different advice out there, but an old insurance rule of thumb set of guidelines is often the most sensible to consider. According to these, you need enough to cover at least 10% your salary (including that ‘Mum pay’) and the sum of your current debts.
This might sound like it will add up to a life insurance policy that costs a little too much for your current budget. But the good news is that not only are there policies out there that are far more affordable than you might think but also women’s life insurance rates are lower than men’ across the board (sorry gents, that’s just the way it is, insurers see ladies as the better risk.)
Finding the Right Life Insurance Policy
Once you begin to research life insurance you’ll quickly find that there is a lot out there to chose from. One person who can help you make the right choice is an independent insurance consultant. These people are experts but they don’t work for one particular company, so have no bias for one policy over another. That means they can help you find the right coverage at the right place and do all of that extra research along the way that your busy life as a hardworking mum does not leave you time to do!
Income Insurance Is it Important?