Consumers are nearly in full agreement that we all need life insurance. In fact, 85% of consumers say life insurance is a key element of their plans for the future. So why do only 62% of consumers report that they actually own a life insurance policy? To a great extent, those numbers are responsible for a more troubling trend: women are suffering from a Life Insurance Gap.
And the story doesn’t end there; of those who own a policy, more than 40% believe they don’t own enough to meet their needs.
But it’s even more shocking that there’s an enormous gender gap when it comes to life insurance coverage. Recent data suggests that just 40% of U.S. women are covered by life insurance. To add to the problem, that same data says women have fallen behind men in the amount of individual life insurance for which they’re covered than men. The numbers reveal that women hold just over $129,000 of individual life insurance, while men are covered to the tune of slightly over $187,000.
That’s a real issue when viewed through the lens of why women, most critically women with children, need to own should own life insurance.
There are a number of elemental reasons women need life insurance to protect their families from potential loss of income, and one of them is the impact of a mom’s financial contribution to a family’s total household income. Recent survey data reveals that 70% ofU.S. households with children under the age of 18 would be seriously strapped when it comes to dealing with daily living expenses – and in just a few short months – if a primary wage earner in the family were to die. As some 40% of U.S. households report that mothers are the primary breadwinner, the impact of a change to income could be devastating. Taken a step further, with slightly more than 60% of households reporting that the mother is responsible for at least 25% of their family’s total earnings, the issue becomes clear.
And what about the numbers which lie outside an easy method of reporting? Consider the cost to replace the services mothers provide which aren’t on the books. How much would a stay-at-home mom contribute to a household’s actual operating costs?
As of 2014, it’s said that some 5.2 million women identified themselves as “stay-at-home moms.” Their contribution is inestimable when it comes to non-financial concerns, but those concerns exist in the real world we live in.
While there is no amount of cash capable of replacing the impact moms have to their families, recent survey data says “stay-at-home moms” should earn roughly $117,000 a year for the tangible impact they provide such as caring for children, preparing meals, shopping and house cleaning. Yet another survey says working moms, despite their daily work regimens, still provide nearly $72,oo0 worth of services to their households – and that’s on top of their annual salaries.
It’s said that more than 80% of single parents are actually single mothers, and in their care, life insurance is one of the few financial resources available to insulate the family against income shortfalls in the event of death. Despite that reality, some 70% of single parents say they don’t own life insurance.
Tough as it is to consider, data says 800,000 people are widowed every year.