What Women Should Know About Life Insurance
Life Insurance
Women need life insurance, regardless of marital status or career choice.
According to the 2023 Insurance Barometer Study, 49% of women have life insurance, compared to 55% of men. And when women do have life insurance, their average level of coverage is significantly lower.1
There are many reasons women don’t purchase coverage. Many overestimate the cost or the time it takes to become insured, and some simply think they don’t need it. But whether she’s a primary breadwinner, a stay-at-home mom, a single parent, or somewhere in between, life insurance should be a part of just about every woman’s financial plan.
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Single Women
Many women think they can forego life insurance if they don’t have children, but if a single woman cares for aging parents or other family members (or knows she will in the future), life insurance can ensure that care will continue uninterrupted. If she owns a business or has debt—including student loans—she probably needs coverage. And for young women who are relatively healthy, it’s often the best time to purchase coverage since they will benefit from lower rates.
Married or Partnered Women
Many families depend on two incomes to make ends meet. Regardless of who is the primary breadwinner, sharing a life—from buying a home to taking out credit cards—creates debt that one person may not be able to handle alone. Buying life insurance for both partners often makes the most financial sense.
Even without kids, if a future family is in the plans, women should consider purchasing life insurance before pregnancy due to the potential onset of conditions such as gestational diabetes or postpartum depression that could make it more difficult to secure coverage at the best rates.
Single Moms
Because single mothers are often the sole source of financial support for their children, they often have greater coverage needs. Despite this, less than half of single moms have life insurance.
With eight million single-mom households, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, there is a dire need for single moms to purchase life insurance or increase the amount they already have.3
Stay-at-Home Moms and Mompreneurs
Stay-at-home parents need coverage too. Even if they don’t bring home a paycheck, the support they provide for a family is substantial. Childcare, cooking, and running a household are all important tasks, the replacement value of which could severely affect a family’s finances. Salary.com estimates that stay-at-home mothers could charge upwards of $200,000 per year for their work.4 Life insurance could help cover those costs.
Mompreneurs and women who work part time while also raising children are not always the primary breadwinners, but their income would be missed if something were to happen to them.
Even if a woman isn’t the primary breadwinner, life insurance provides much needed funds when an overwhelmed partner is left to manage a household, find childcare for kids, or needs to take a leave of absence to be with them.
Most women do need life insurance. The good news is women’s life insurance rates are typically lower than men’s—and all the more so if she’s young and healthy. So don’t delay, learn more about our life insurance plans.
1 2023 Insurance Barometer Study, Life Happens and LIMRA.
2 2023 Insurance Barometer Study.
3 “Mothers Maintain 80% of Single-Parent Family Groups,” U.S. Census Bureau, November 2022.
4 “How Much is a Mom Really Worth? The Amount May Surprise You.” Salary.com, 2023.
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