When you're younger, it’s easy to imagine living a long and healthy life.

However, as you get older, you begin to realize that an accident or illness can happen at any moment that could drastically change your financial situation.

Whether you are a mom, married or single, life insurance is the foundation of a good financial plan. Since life can change unexpectedly, the best time to get protection in place is generally when you’re young, healthy, and able to lock in affordable prices.

Working moms

Over the past few decades, women’s roles have drastically changed. No longer based primarily at home, women make up 47 percent of the workforce in the United States. (U.S. Census Bureau, Data Ferrett, Current Population Survey, December 2014) 

As women reach new levels of personal and professional success, it is important to make time to assess your life insurance needs:

• Can your family live in your home without your salary? 
• Are you adequately insured to replace your income for years to come if you were no longer here?

Don’t just count on the life insurance that comes as a workplace group benefit. This benefit may not cover all of your financial needs. Also, if you leave your job, you may lose this important benefit.

Stay-at-home moms

Losing the parent who stays home with children can devastate a family, emotionally and financially. Many women underestimate how much coverage is necessary to protect their families.  

As a stay-at-home mom, think about the cost to provide a nanny, a chauffeur, a cook, a housekeeper, a gardener and much more. In their 2018 "Annual Mom Salary Survey," Salary.com estimated that, it would take an average salary of $162,581 to compensate someone doing the work a stay-at-home parent.^* 

Without life insurance, would you or your spouse be able to cover that amount until the children no longer need parental oversight?

Life insurance can help fill that gap and give your spouse and children some financial stability in your absence.

Single moms

The emotional attachment between a parent and child cannot be replaced. However, if mom is no longer there, the child will also run the risk of suffering financially.

Life insurance can help single moms make sure the financial resources are there to provide the care, education and opportunities they want for their children.

Single women

Whether you are single by choice, divorced, or widowed, single women without dependents face a unique set of financial challenges that life insurance can help them solve.

Though life insurance many not be needed for income replacement, the question becomes who will be responsible for debts that are cosigned (car loan, education loan, mortgage, etc.). Aging parents or loved ones on fixed incomes may be responsible and this can be a burden on them.

Perhaps an even larger challenge is that you alone are responsible for saving and planning for your future. Besides planning for retirement, it also means making sure are sufficient resources available to keep you financially afloat if you're unable to earn income due to sickness, injury or job loss.

That's where permanent life insurance can help do double-duty. In addition to death benefit protection, many permanent policies can help accumulate cash value on a tax-advantaged basis that can be used for a lifetime of needs, such as funding an education, covering emergency expenses, or supplementing retirement income.

Also, many life insurance policies now come with optional benefits that can provide cash to you should you become chronically ill. This money could be used to pay for a variety of services that you may need.

Next steps

Life insurance is an important part of your financial plan. Work with your financial professional to find the right amount and type of life insurance coverage to protect you and your family.