We Don’t Have Enough Life Insurance…Yet

This post is brought to you by Genworth and Brandfluential.

My husband and I have always had life insurance.  In both our cases, the insurance came from our employers, and we didn’t really give much thought to the details because we felt we were covered.  Our lives, however, are quite a bit different from what they were a few years ago:  we have children, we own a home, I left my job to care for the children, and we both have more gray hair than ever before (you have permission to shed a tear for me on that one).  With all of these important changes, we’re realizing that we need to reevaluate our life insurance situation.

Employer-provided life insurance is usually something in the area of one or two times the amount of your annual salary.  My kids are only 3 and 4 years old, and if we were without my husband’s income, that insurance payout wouldn’t get us very far.  I, alone, would suddenly be responsible for covering expenses like the mortgage, utilities, food, clothing, college, funeral costs, and more…because there is always more.  Just thinking about it gives me a headache.  Genworth has a Life Insurance Calculator to give you an idea of how much coverage you might need should disaster strike.

Did you use the calculator?  Were you surprised by the results?  I was a little shocked at first, but when you do the math, it makes sense.  The amount is just an estimate, but it’s a good place to start, and it has certainly given me something to think about.

And what about me?  I left my job, so I no longer have coverage from an employer.  Does a stay-at-home mom need life insurance too?  Absolutely.  In fact, I need insurance now more than I ever have before.  If anything were to happen to me, who would take care of the kids?  Of the house?  Of my husband?  ☺  My husband might be able to make the mortgage payment without me, but he wouldn’t have the time for all of the things I do for the family every day.  He’d definitely need help (a lot of it), and that kind of help doesn’t come for free.  It’s not even cheap.

It’s clear to us now that we aren’t nearly as prepared as we’d like to be, and we’re ready to do something about it.  There are a lot of factors involved in determining the right amount of life insurance coverage, but we’re going to talk to a professional so we can be sure we have what we need.

What about you?  Do you have enough coverage?  If you’re a stay-at-home mom, do you have life insurance?

I hope you enjoyed this post that was inspired by Genworth and Brandfluential.  All opinions contained here are my own.