Can a housewife get life insurance cover?

Life insurance is a way to make good the financial loss of the dependents in case the breadwinner passes away. It is a means to financially secure the aspirations and lifestyle of the dependents in the absence of the breadwinner. And hence only a person who earns an income can be insured. But what about those people who nevertheless provide a critical service but do not get reimbursed. A housewife manages the cooking, laundry, upbringing of the children, oversees their studies, takes them for various extracurricular activities, inculcates good values, takes care of aged parents and in-laws and handles various miscellaneous tasks. In a nutshell, a housewife ensures that the breadwinner (husband) can concentrate on his career without getting stressed out on the various nitty-gritties of running a house.

However, what would happen if she meets with an untimely death. The tasks mentioned above would still need to be carried out. A housekeeper, cook, tutor all may need to be hired. These tasks will cease to be free services. A salary will need to be paid to manage the work which the housewife was earlier performing free of cost. Thus, the economic value of the housewife’s life is realized when she is no longer there. In case the lady of the house has a life insurance cover, the proceeds can at least help the family financially, to deal with these new expenses.

So, let’s see below what life insurance options are available for a housewife:

1)      Insurance companies generally do not offer term plans for housewives. A term plans provide high insurance coverage (sum assured) for a low premium. It is considered as an income replacement plan. Since a housewife technically does not generate income, these plans are generally out of bounds for a housewife. Some companies offer a term plan on the condition that the husband should have an existing policy for a higher sum assured than that desired for the wife.
2)      Insurance companies are happy to offer endowment plans and ULIPs to housewives. These are savings cum insurance products with a stress more on savings. They offer low insurance cover for high premiums and not a very good choice if you are looking for more insurance coverage.
3)      Joint life insurance where both the spouses are covered in a single plan can help a housewife get life insurance cover. In some of these plans, in addition to the death benefit a regular income is paid out to the surviving spouse for a specific number of years. Some of the plans also offer an inbuilt accidental death and critical illness cover. MetLife’s Mera Term Plan offers a cover of up to INR 25 lakhs for homemakers.

Hope this post has been useful and helps you take an informed decision in case you wish to insure your homemaker wife’s life.

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