According to the United States Census Bureau, 23% of U.S. children under the age of 18 live with one parent and no other adults. What would happen to these children if their parent unexpectedly died?
Let’s explore the importance of life insurance for single parents, how much it costs, and how to get it.
Table of Contents
- Why Single Parents Need Life Insurance
- Important Considerations When Choosing a Policy
- See What You Could Pay
- How to Get Life Insurance as a Single Parent
Explore various life insurance policy options and their average monthly costs.
Why Single Parents Need Life Insurance
While anyone with dependents should have life insurance, you could argue that single parents need it the most.
When married couples purchase life insurance, they often plan with the possibility that one spouse will remain to care for the children. Single parents do not have this luxury.
Key findings from a 2023 survey by Life Happens include:
- 75% say they felt overwhelmed with becoming a single parent.
- Half of single parents (52%) bought life insurance to provide financially for their children if they were to die unexpectedly.
- The average single parent says they’d need at least $332,705 in savings to feel at ease about raising their child.
Single parents think about their child’s financial future on average five times a day. Life insurance can help provide single parents peace of mind.
Important Considerations When Choosing a Policy
When considering life insurance options, single parents should consider the following:
- Get enough life insurance to cover your lost income, child care (if children are young), your children’s education, and your final expenses (debt, funeral, burial.)
- Choose a responsible guardian who will be in charge of the care for your children. Document this in a valid will.
- Name a trust as your policy beneficiary. Minor children cannot receive life insurance death benefits. A trust will ensure the death benefit proceeds are distributed and used according to your wishes. You can also set it up that once your children are of legal age, that they are given a portion of the benefit.
Term life insurance is very customizable. You choose the amount of coverage and how long the coverage lasts.
Ideally, buy a term length that will ensure your family is covered until your youngest child is financially-independent and on their own. Insurance coverage ranges from $50,000 to millions of dollars. Buy what you can comfortably afford long-term.
The younger you are when you purchase a life insurance policy, the more affordable it will be. When you buy a term life insurance policy, you lock in your premium for the entire term.
Below is an example of the monthly cost of a term life insurance policy that lasts 30 years. You can see how the age you buy a policy impacts its cost. Also, the more coverage you buy, the higher the monthly premium.
If a healthy 30-year-old single mother buys a 30-year $250,000 term life insurance policy, she will pay approximately $15.44 per month.
This monthly premium will never increase the entire 30-year term.
If she unexpectedly dies within that 30-year time period, her beneficiary receives $250,000.
Unsure how much life insurance you need? Quickly and easily calculate your coverage needs.
How to Get Life Insurance as a Single Parent
Single parents typically rely on one income and live extremely busy lives. With so much going on, buying life insurance may not be at the top of the to-do list.
We understand buying life insurance can feel overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be. At Quotacy, we make the process easy by pairing you with a personal agent, who will do a second round of comparison shopping to make sure you get the right coverage at the best price. Plus, we own the application process and keep you informed every step of the way.
Get life insurance in 5 simple steps:
- Get a free online term life insurance quote without sharing any sensitive information.
- Choose a policy you like and apply for term life insurance coverage online.
- Go through the buying process with your Quotacy agent guiding you.
- Accept your offer (or deny it, you have no obligation to accept).
- Start monthly, quarterly, or annual payments and you’re insured.
Note: Life insurance quotes used in this article are accurate as of September 7, 2023. These are only estimates and your life insurance costs may be higher or lower.
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