Choosing An Insurance Policy When You\’re A Single Parent
By Graham McKenzie
If you”re a single parent, you know that you bear a lot of responsibility that many people don”t truly understand. Sometimes there is a crushing financial burden to raising children on your own, and often you are the only one that can handle the responsibility. If something should happen to you, you know that there may not be the available resources to care for your children in the way that you know they deserve.
You of course want your children to grow and experience all the small joys in life that come with growing up, and which make a huge difference in everyone’’s life as they grow. If you can”t be there to provide for your children, the best thing you can do is to have a solid life insurance plan, to ensure that your children are taken care of and can experience all the little joys you want for them, with enough left over for college.
Money is either lived on or left on: either you live on the money that you earn, or you leave it behind for the people that matter the most to you. For most of us, these people are our spouses and children. When we pass on, we want to help our family move forward without having to bear a huge financial burden or struggle to survive because we”ve left them sooner than expected. Life insurance is really about the love and caring that you want to pass on to your family as a last act: the money is only the vehicle to expressing that love and care.
If you”re the sole provider for your children, the most responsible thing you can do is to insure yourself, which will give you the peace of mind that comes with knowing that they will be provided for should the worst happen. However, you will also need to be sure that insuring yourself doesn”t create a financial burden for you and your children now, in the present.
To get the best coverage for the least money, look into a term life policy. Whole life is better, because it will never expire, but it also comes with a higher price tag. However, term life will allow you to protect your children all through the years they grow, while still being able to balance your finances in the present.
Depending on your children’’s age, you may want to choose a policy to grow with them: 5, 10, 15, or 20-year terms are all available. Again, whole life is better if you can afford it. Another option is to buy a very small whole life policy to cover your burial expenses, and also buy a larger, less expensive term life policy to cover your children if you die before they can care for themselves.
About The Author
Graham McKenzie is the content syndication coordinator a leading South African Life Insurance and Life Cover portal. For more information visit: http://www.lifeinsurance-southafrica.co.za