Part of the reason why men tend to have more life insurance than women is that men often earn more than women, but common misconceptions also play a role in preventing women from getting the coverage they need. For instance, you don’t need to be the primary breadwinner in your household to need life insurance. In fact, even stay-at-home parents may need life insurance.

Take a moment to understand whether you might need additional life insurance coverage to help secure your family’s financial future.

If You’re Married
Almost two-thirds of today’s families depend on two incomes to make ends meet, yet working women are less likely than men to carry life insurance coverage. If you died suddenly, could your family maintain its standard of living on your husband’s income alone? Probably not. Life insurance makes sure that your plans for the future don’t die when you do.

If You’re a Single Parent
As a single mom, you’re the primary caregiver, breadwinner, and so much more, yet nearly four in ten single parents have no life insurance whatsoever, and many with coverage may need more. With so much responsibility resting on their shoulders, single parents need to make doubly sure that they have enough life insurance to safeguard their children’s financial future.

If You’re a Stay-At-Home Mom
The fact that you don’t earn a salary doesn’t mean you don’t make a financial contribution to your family. Childcare, cleaning, cooking, and household management are all important tasks, the replacement value of which is often severely underestimated. According to a recent survey, most people value these services at more than $40,000 a year. Could your husband afford to pay someone for those services or take over those obligations himself and still work full time? With life insurance, your family can afford to make the choice that best preserves its quality of life.

For a free Consumer’s Guide to Insurance, call 888- LIFE-777 or visit www.life-line.org

This article was reprinted with permission from LIFE, a nonprofit life and health insurance foundation for education. For more information please call Stephanie Johnson at 800-245-5558, ext. 539.