While not the most cheering subject, there’s no doubt that life insurance is an incredibly important one – after all, according to a study carried out by laya life in 2015, it costs €105,321 to raise a child from birth to 21 years.
Sorting out our life insurance means we have planned ahead to take care of our dependents financially, should anything happen to us
And while life insurance is most often associated with younger families, it can be required at many different stages and circumstances throughout our lives:
The parent / spouse with mortgage protection
Mortgage protection is in place to pay off your mortgage, so doesn’t usually provide a sum of money to your dependents. So while this means the mortgage is one major thing looked after, it doesn’t plan for other costs like education, medical and other unpredictable expenses. This is why it makes sense to have a separate life insurance policy to look after a dependent family.
The married / cohabiting parent with three kids
If your family relies on your income to pay the bills, or if your salary is considerably higher than your spouse, life insurance will step in to cover the expenses of raising three children and running a household. And if your children are already grown up, life insurance can take care of your spouse.
The man living with his parents
A child isn’t the only dependent an adult can have. In some cases, an ageing parent can depend on the income of their grown-up children.
The stay-at-home parent
Being a stay-at-home parent is basically a 24-hour job, but what if we weren’t there to do the myriad things we do for our children? Life insurance can step in and look after our children financially, including the high cost of childcare.
The single parent
As the main person caring for your children, it’s important to have a financial plan in place to care for them should anything happen. Consider this: according to laya life's study, per child it costs over €4,000 per year for university, over €3,000 per year for food and over €4000 annually for childcare.
The person with co-signed debt
Co-signing a debt – like a student loan – means you’re both responsible for it, so in the event of something happening to you, your life insurance policy can pay it off, preventing the full burden of the debt from falling on the other person.
The parent with grown-up kids
Even if you have no dependents, you may need life insurance to look after your partner or spouse financially, or to ensure all of your debts are paid off.
Whatever you decide, you should consider InsuranceForFinalExpense you'll find the right one for you.
