A parent’s primary instinct is to provide for and protect their spouse and children. We work hard to earn the resources required to raise and educate our children because we want to give them the best start in life. For most families, this is the norm but unfortunately, for 10% of families, disaster will strike and one or more parent will die prematurely. For some it will be a sudden and unexpected death by accident, for others, it will be as a result of an illness. Either way, the death of a breadwinner causes serious financial problems on top of the emotional distress and hurt of the loss of a loved one and breadwinner.
A life insurance policy provides a simple and cheap way to ensure that cash is made available at that distressing time. A life insurance pay-out cannot bring back a person who has died nor relieve the grieving process the family must go through. But the payment of cash can help to manage the financial void that will occur after a premature death.
The cost of maintaining a family is high and a family earning the average industrial wage of €35,000 should have total life cover of €350,000 or more. Some life cover may already be provided by their mortgage protection policy that pays off the mortgage if one borrower dies during the term of the loan. There may also be a death in service benefit payable from their employment and if so, the usual payment is about 2 years’ salary.
Assuming both parents are aged 35 and non-smokers, they will pay €50.00 per month for life cover of €350,000, payable on both deaths within a 20 year term. The cost of life cover increases if you have impaired health, so it is very important for parents to arrange sufficient life cover while they are young and healthy. Contact your financial broker to find out what level of protection is right for you.