Do Women Need Life Insurance?

When it comes to life insurance, many women are either uninsured or grossly underinsured. The disparity between the coverage levels of men and women perhaps stems from the fact that men tend to earn more money than women or that men are more likely to be employed full-time. However, neither of these reasons is a legitimate excuse for a woman not to purchase an adequate life insurance policy. In what follows, we’ll explain why women need life insurance just as much as men do.

The Facts

Though more and more women have entered the workplace, the number of women who have life insurance policies is still lagging. In fact, only 59% of women carry life insurance policies, compared to 64% of men. Moreover, women are listed as the insured party on only 29% of all of the life insurance policies purchased. The most shocking statistic, however, is the following: life insurance coverage for men accounts for 85% of the total dollar amount of protection. Coverage for women accounts for a mere 10% of the total dollar value.

Why Should Women Have Life Insurance?

Why does a woman need life insurance? For the exact same reasons a man does—to protect her family, replace lost income, and help pay family debt obligations. Three out of every five married women work, which means their death would result in precious income being lost. Even for women who do not work outside the home, the services they provide to their families are worth tens of thousands of dollars per year. Whether women work or not, their insurance needs are no less important than those of men.

Scenarios

Here are some life insurance recommendations for some common scenarios in which women might find themselves:

• If you are a two-income family: Your family probably depends on your paycheck in order to cover the expenses of daily living. You need a policy that is at least five to ten times your annual salary.
• If you are single and the head of your household: Even though your financial responsibilities are considerable as the sole breadwinner, you probably have little or no life insurance, according to studies. Your family depends solely on you for their survival, so life insurance is especially critical.
• If you are a stay-at-home mom: You might not bring home a paycheck, but the services you provide to your family are invaluable. If you died, your husband would likely have to reduce his hours at work to manage the household and/or hire someone to do so. A life insurance policy could help offset this cost.
• If you are single: For women who don’t have any children or loved ones to provide for, you still might have debt obligations that a life insurance policy could take care of. A policy would also handle your final expenses to avoid burdening your family.