As parents, we have quite a few responsibilities to deal with when it comes to running our household; our children look up to us and they also expect a lot from us.
Of course, there are times when we reward them for doing well and we may even overdo it, borderlining on spoiling them.
I have written about the importance of living a balanced life; in this article, we will be looking at the importance of putting our house in order for our family as we live a balanced life.
We need to consider the benefits of Life Insurance as we handle the financial responsibilities at home.
My First Born
If you have children, do you remember the birth of your first child? I do. I was fortunate to be in the delivery room for the birth of my first child and wow, what a joyous feeling I had, seeing the baby girl I was speaking to for nine months in her mom’s tummy. That was one of the happiest moments in my life.
She was born on a Saturday afternoon in October 2007. I spent the night in the nursing home because I was not about to leave my wife and newborn to go home to an empty house.
Protective Parent
We were discharged from the nursing home two days later, and I must admit, that first step outside of the nursing home with my baby girl reminded me of an ad that showed a father leaving the hospital with his baby and he was all of a sudden aware of the dangers around him; I felt the same way.
With my baby girl securely and safely strapped into her baby car seat, we took our time on the road; it was a very slow drive home.
If any vehicle came close I was fussing, but I couldn’t blow the horn because she was sleeping.
My Second Born
Three years later we had our second and last child. Unlike our daughter, his entrance into this world was traumatic so I didn’t get the opportunity to be in the delivery room.
Instead, I was outside pacing the hospital waiting room wondering if my son will live and if I will ever see my wife again.
Life or Death
On a Tuesday morning in August 2010 my wife – 34 weeks pregnant – woke up with intense pain and I had to call the ambulance for her based on a phone call I had with her doctor.
He told me to have her describe how her tummy was feeling, and based on her description, he said she was bleeding internally, and she needed to get to the hospital immediately for them to deliver the baby and save her life.
Good Doctors
While waiting and pacing, I observed two ladies going in and out of the operating room quite a few times. They later told me that every time they went in, they took blood for my wife.
Thankfully the doctors were able to deliver him safely, a beautiful baby boy and they were able to save my wife’s life.
Income Protection
As an Insurance Agent, I have delivered death claims to beneficiaries and I have delivered critical illness claims to insured clients.
Of course, I do not want to experience having a death claim delivered to myself.
As breadwinners, our income stream should be sufficiently protected to replace our income for our love ones (especially our children) in the event of our death.
Now if you had a crystal ball that showed you will live to a ripe old age of seventy plus, then you might have a good reason why you don’t need Life Insurance.
Beneficiary
Seeing that we don’t know when death will come knocking, we need life insurance. I’m hearing some of you saying you don’t need it, but my question to you is this; if you died today, will your family be able to get by without your income? Please, think about it.
Approximately twenty years ago, the wife of one of my clients called, she was very angry with her husband; he did something and she didn’t want anything to do with him again. She didn’t even want to be a beneficiary on his policy anymore.
So I visited their home and after completing the change of beneficiary form the husband escorted me outside. My client told me to destroy the form; he said she is angry and not thinking straight, I want her name on the policy as beneficiary.
Life Insurance
Two years later he died, the main breadwinner. There was a battle for his estate; however fortunately for her, that beneficiary change she wanted, was never done and as a result, the proceeds of the policy couldn’t be contested, so the benefits were paid to her.
You should have enough Life Insurance to replace your income in the event of your death.
Think about it. If your spouse dies now, will you be able to handle the financial commitments they are currently dealing with? And will you still be able to handle yours?
Here are some reasons why you should consider buying life insurance:
- Provide a cash fund to pay off the mortgage
- A cash lump sum to pay off other loans, e.g. car loan/hire purchase, etc
- A cash fund to cover recurring expenses until the youngest child attains age 25
- Leave a Cash fund for emergencies
- A cash fund for tertiary education
Family Budget
There are other reasons why we should buy life insurance and there are different types of insurance, but today we are looking at some basic reasons why we need to have it for our family.
You can click here to get free family budget templates from Excelchat.
Planning and execution are very important aspects of our lives as parents, and the decisions we make today can affect generations to come; the following is a powerful verse from Proverbs 13-22: a good man leaves an inheritance for his children’s children.
Conclusion
If you are not currently in a financial position to take no-pay leave for three years, don’t put your family in that position.
Instead, leave a legacy behind to ensure what you started can and will continue; as a parent that is our obligation to our family. If you are the only breadwinner you need to protect your income now with life insurance.
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