Life Insurance for Mums (and Dads)

Single parent life insurance in the UK

The financial difficulties facing single parents are considerable, but how much worse would they be if you take away that parent? Whether it’s a single dad or single working mum, the loss of the parent is devastating enough without it coming with financial uncertainty and upheaval.

The daily grind means it’s easy to skip over things like getting life insurance if you are single parent, but life insurance quotes for mums and dads take only a few minutes of your time and can make the difference between security for your children or… what?

Planning for your children with a life insurance policy

It’s important to think about what would happen to your children if you died. Many single mums don’t even have a will, leaving their children adrift of focussed guardianship and putting their inheritance in the hands of intestacy laws.

Taking the time out to discuss where they would go and who would look after them with family members is an important stage, and covering the finances at the same time is important.

Can their potential guardian afford to raise them? Will they be able to stay in the family home and continue with their life with as minimal an amount of disruption as possible?

The best life insurance companies in the UK can’t do anything about the emotional impact or logistical chaos that might envelop your children, but life insurance can make sure they are taken care of financially.

Life insurance for women

Your life insurance quote will take into account your age and health and the news is good for single mums – as women enjoy a slight advantage when it comes to premium prices! Life insurance can be secured for as little as £6 per month – when people ask how much life insurance is, they don’t expect a figure that’s cheaper than a couple of cups of coffee!

A few pounds a month can provide a level of security that’ll pay off the mortgage and give your children a stable home. It can give those who will take on your children money for clothes, food and bills; allowing them to focus on what’s needed – the support and wellbeing of your family.

Not just for picture-book families living the 9-to-5, life insurance is there to support every parent, whether that’s cover for single mothers or life insurance for the father working hard to support his children (even if he’ll have to pay a few pennies more!).

The types of life insurance – the best life cover for your family

Term life cover is an affordable type of life insurance perfectly designed for putting a protective bubble around a family. It comes in two types:

• Decreasing term: a cheap level of cover designed to mirror your outstanding mortgage balance and pay it off should the worst happen
• Level term: affordable insurance that will provide for your children until they are old enough to support themselves

At Unite Life, our advisors can talk you through the right level of insurance for your family. Typically, we recommend an amount of level term life insurance equal to five times your annual salary – enough to provide for many years after an unexpected death. Hearing this is often one of the reasons mums at home turn away from the product.

“That’s not for me,” they say, “I don’t earn a salary.”

But is that true?

The financial value of stay at home mums

A parent who dedicates his or her life to the household is not ‘earning nothing’. Far from it, most parents would agree that the stay at home parent is the one with the hardest job: hours that don’t include a break or clocking off time, a physically demanding and relentless task list, being eternally on call… sometimes it’s a wonder we do it at all!

Trying to qualify the financial value of a stay at home parent is hard, but add up the costs of childcare, administration, transportation and cleaning. Add in a cook, a nurse and a teacher – then put entertainer and IT technician on top.

In today’s environment, £80,000 would be a low annual estimate.

When it comes to life insurance, is £400,000 a reasonable level term payout? Will it support your children until they are out of full time education? For many the answer is thankfully yes, and when they find that this level of insurance is available for an affordable monthly premium, it seems crazy to have left it this long.

Child life insurance in the UK – should you get life insurance for mother and child together?

There are sadly reasons to get life insurance for your children – primarily the cost of a funeral (which averages at almost £5,000) that you may need to find, but at Unite Life we prefer to take the optimistic view and tend to advise away from children’s life insurance.

Primarily, life insurance is there to replace a salary or work that the policy holder represents. With them gone, the money is to help pick up the pieces. Children don’t tend to affect the family finances in that way, and for that reason are less requiring of insurance.

For most families, it is better to place the money aside into savings, giving you a substantial sum to pass on when they grow and start their own life (as well as a handy backup in the case of any problems along the way).

Critical illness cover for parents

What we do recommend is critical illness cover for the parent. CIC provides a lump sum payment should you become injured or too ill to work – and included in almost every CIC policy is cover for your children, giving you financial support should your loved one fall critically ill.

It’s money that can help you through the hard times, be used for extra support or medical treatment and give you the breathing space you need to do the most important thing – care for your child.

Tap the link for more information about critical illness cover and protecting your child.

Life insurance advice from Unite Life

Understanding your options is key to making the right choices.

At Unite Life, we don’t try to sell you anything you don’t need, but work with you, listening to your personal circumstances and finding the best product(s) that suits you. Our advisors are all experts in the field and can explain any aspect of life insurance to help you make the right decision.

You can contact us through our contact form, read more about life insurance in our library of resources or simply pick up the phone and talk to an advisor today!