Don't underestimate your value as a parent

Many people might consider their most valuable asset to be their house, car or pension savings. They often overlook the obvious – themselves and their income.

It is often said that being a parent is the hardest job in the world and this may be right. On an average day, parents will take on the role of a cook, doctor, nurse, teacher, nanny, PA, housekeeper, cleaner — and that’s all before the school drop off! If you are a parent with this important role, have you considered how your family would cope if they lost you? It’s not something any of us like to think about, but if the worst happened, it’s good to know that you could offer your loved ones some financial protection to provide for your family’s future.

When it comes to insuring our lives, many families think about replacing the main earner’s income first. After all, this money pays the bills and keeps the roof over the family’s head. On many occasions life cover for a mum or dad who stays at home to look after the children full time is forgotten and this can be a big mistake.

If you’re a stay-at-home parent and don’t earn a salary, it’s easy to think you don’t need life insurance. However, the fact is, if something happened to you, your partner may have to reduce their working hours to look after your children or pay someone else to do all the roles you do — and that can be expensive.

In 2015, Legal and General (L&G) identified, on average, the annual domestic value of a mum was £29,535 and £21,601 for a dad, whilst parents also said they spent a further £2,429.96 on average a year on regular activities, pocket money and treats. These
figures will have inevitably increased with inflation.

A more recent study from insurer **LV= states that to raise a child in 2019 to age 18 costs on average £75,436 for a couple and £102,627 for a single parent.

Another recent study from ***L&G surveyed 1,000 parents. Nearly half had no life insurance cover  at all, of which 51% believed cover is too expensive, 20% felt they were too young and 14% said it’s too confusing. Whatever your reason, being covered is essential to provide for your family and their future.

This demonstrates the value of a parent. If the worst were to happen, you would not want your family to worry or struggle financially, particularly at an already difficult time. This is where protection such as life assurance cover can help.

Of course, replacing a parent is impossible, but a pay out from a life assurance policy would help to cover some of your family’s day-to-day costs and take some of the financial stress out of a terrible situation.

If you would like to discuss your protection needs in more detail and the options available to you, please contact me.

References:

** https://www.lv.com/life-insurance/cost-of-raising-a-child-2019

*** https://www.legalandgeneral.com/life-cover/articles-and-guides/family-life-and-care/life-insurance-poll.html