Life Insurance for New Mums
When you become a mum for the first time, protecting your little one and securing their future becomes top priority.
It’s no wonder then that, after the arrival of a baby, many new mums take out life insurance for the first time. Find out why.
It should go without saying that having children can be costly, so frequently, the daily expenses associated with raising a child can only be covered by your salary or that of another household member.
Financial hardship would result from the loss of you or someone you depend on, in addition to the emotional burden. One method to have a safety net in place is through life insurance.
Life insurance for new mums is made easy with Mummy Insurance. Get your free life insurance quote today.
Why Life Insurance is Important for a New Mum?
You never want to consider not being involved in your child’s future. However, it’s a concern that occasionally sneaks up on us all.
According to the Childhood Bereavement Network, a parent passes away in the UK every 22 minutes, leaving behind dependent children. In other words, every day 111 kids lose their mother or father.
Beyond making a living and taking care of the household expenses, parents are dependent on one another. The surviving parent frequently must quit their full-time job to take care of the children. Or, if they keep working, the additional childcare would be quite costly.
A financial safety net can at least provide some peace of mind, allowing you to enjoy your new family life without the nagging concern of “what if something happens to me?
Children Cost Money
And if you want to leave a lump sum to help cover the costs of yours, there are a few common outgoings you’ll need to think about when working out how much life cover you need:
- Your mortgage and other outstanding debts
- Monthly outgoings – are you worried about running costs for the home being covered?
- Educational costs, like equipment, uniforms and books – or a private education
- Childcare costs – whether that’s nursery or extra care during the school holidays
- Everyday costs, such as food, clothing, toys, outings, activities
- Yearly expenses, like birthdays, holidays, festive celebrations…
If the main breadwinner should pass away, you might find you want more of these costs covered. It really depends on your financial situation, and what your family could afford without you.
If you’re more interested in leaving a lump sum for your children, rather than covering outgoings, you could consider writing your life insurance in trust. That way, you have more control over how your children can access it.
If you’re a single mum, you should think about who would take care of your children if you pass away. Life insurance for single mums could help to ease the financial impact on your child’s guardian.
Consider writing your life insurance policy in a trust too. This often means your beneficiaries get a quicker payout. And that the payout should be exempt from inheritance tax, depending on your circumstances.
You should also make a will setting out your wishes, to prevent potential disputes between relatives.
Level Term Life Insurance For New Mums
This is the simplest type of life insurance for new mums. You choose the payout value and how long the policy lasts. This is handy as you know the exact amount your dependants are getting.
The policy will only pay out if you die within the term period you’ve chosen.
Decreasing Term Life Insurance For New Mums
This is best for helping your dependants cover debts that lessen over time, like a mortgage – it’s why this type of policy is also known as ‘mortgage life insurance’.
If you died near the start of the policy, your dependants would get a larger payout than near the end when there’s less mortgage to pay off.
It can be cheaper than level term life insurance, but if you increase your borrowing the amount may not be enough.
Critical Illness Cover For New Mums
You can get critical illness insurance as part of a decreasing or level term life insurance policy (integrated), or as standalone cover (with or without life insurance).
It’ll pay out a fixed amount if you’re diagnosed with a serious illness – which could be useful if you’re unable to work.
If you buy critical illness cover as part of a decreasing or level term policy, it’d only pay out once. So, if you claimed for an illness, the policy would end, and your dependants wouldn’t get another payment when you die.
With standalone cover, your critical illness cover pays out if you become ill. But your life is still insured. Your life insurance would pay out if you die.
Will Life Insurance Cost More If I Am Pregnant?
When you’re pregnant, getting life insurance shouldn’t cost more than it typically would.
Most likely, during your pregnancy, you adjusted some of your lifestyle practises, such as quitting drinking and eating more healthfully. Just be truthful while purchasing a policy. Your insurance company will be interested in learning about your pre-pregnancy lifestyle choices. For insurance purposes, you will still be viewed as a “smoker” and a greater risk if you stopped smoking in the months prior to being pregnant. This may result in a higher premium, not just because you are pregnant.
What Other Types of Life Insurance Might I Need As A New Mum?
As well as life insurance for new mums, there are other types of financial protection you might want to consider for your new family:
Income Protection Insurance – replaces your regular income if you are sick or injured and unable to work. Depending on the policy, you could also cover periods of unemployment, for example, if you’re made redundant.
Family Health Insurance – while you and your family may be entitled to NHS care, a family health insurance policy could cover the costs of private treatment with the added benefit of shorter waiting times.
This depends on things like the amount of cover you need, your policy length and type, as well as your age, health, lifestyle, and whether you smoke.
Your life insurance will probably be cheaper if you can pay your premiums annually rather than every month.
You can get life insurance as a new mum easily through using Mummy Insurance. We have an advised service & we use our panel of insurance providers to find you the most suitable policy that is tailored to meet your individual and family’s needs.
