When starting your new family, the last thing you want to think about is leaving them. After all, your spouse leans on you, and your new babies rely on your joint nurturing abilities and guidance. During the precious moments of little league and school plays, the last thing we want to think about is the unexpected. As a parent, investing in life insurance is a simple way to enjoy life with your children without having to worry about their financial future.
If you want to ensure your family’s safety and financial stability when you’re no longer around, consider life insurance for parents in Canada. At Alliance Income, we cover all aspects of life, from group benefits to group retirement, so rely on us for the appropriate insurance product for your situation.
In this article
Understanding Your Role in Your Life Insurance Policy
A suitable life insurance policy guarantees that your family will continue to have food on the table and a roof over their heads if your income should suddenly disappear. Let us help explain the roles inscribed within a life insurance policy.
Who Is the Insured?
The insured is the individual who takes out the life insurance policy and whose death would trigger a death benefit payout from the insurance company. The benefits would cover funeral arrangements and debt repayments and add to the household’s new total income.
Life insurance for parents comes in all shapes and sizes, each with a different monthly cost depending on your and your significant other’s work arrangement and earnings. Insurance costs also hinge on coverage level and how you file for insurance, whether with a joint policy or as an individual. Each of these factors also affects the amount of the death benefit when that point arrives.
Who Are the Beneficiaries?
The beneficiaries accept the death benefit after the insured passes away. They usually consist of the spouse and children, the children being the co-beneficiaries. However, beneficiaries could be anyone, from the deceased’s parents to a trusted friend or organization, that the insured claims.
If your sole beneficiaries are underage, their benefits go into a trust upon your death. However, adult children would receive the benefits immediately.
When Should You Consider Life Insurance?
Many believe you don’t need to purchase life insurance for the family until after the new additions join the home. On the contrary, at Alliance Income, we strongly advise you to consider it the moment you get baby fever.
If You’re Planning to Become Pregnant
Just as it’s best to purchase health insurance before health issues become a concern, consider life insurance that’ll benefit your family long before you or your spouse become pregnant. Some people purchase life insurance up to a decade before having children, but others who find themselves with an impromptu pregnancy should look into insurance no later than a few weeks into the first trimester.
Since complications may arise further into the pregnancy, ensure that medical complications are at a minimum to secure a lower insurance rate by applying for insurance as early as possible.
If You’re Considering an Alternative to Pregnancy
Similarly, when planning for surrogacy or adoption, apply for insurance coverage before a baby or child enters your home. Insurance companies suggest doing so during the application process for obtaining a child so that insurance coverage takes effect before they enter your home.
Types of Life Insurance for Parents
Life insurance terms come in different time spans depending on your needs. For instance, some are temporary, while others cover the insured indefinitely.
Term Life Insurance
Term life insurance is the most popular life insurance for parents since it allows children to receive coverage as beneficiaries until they’re of legal age and become financially independent. Usually, this means opting for a 20-year or 30-year term life insurance policy rather than permanent life insurance.
This is the most straightforward life insurance type. As long as you pay your monthly premium that the insurance bases on your health and age, your beneficiaries would receive death benefits if you should die before the term is over. Otherwise, if you outlive your term life insurance, you won’t receive a payout unless you have return-of-premium life insurance that reimburses your premium payments.
Whole Life Insurance
Permanent or whole life insurance is more complicated than term life insurance and comes with a higher premium since the company guarantees you a payout. However, it covers you until your demise despite the longevity of your lifetime. Because your coverage has no time limit, your spouse or children would receive benefits at any age, making it a perfect choice for any of the following situations:
- You have a child with a disability or special needs that make them permanently dependent.
- You want to cover your children despite their financial standing and age.
- You want to build cash value or increase your family’s wealth over time.
Separate or Individual Life Insurance
Unlike single parents, couples can choose whether to apply for life insurance individually or jointly. Many choose individual life insurance if they’re the sole provider for their family. That means their spouse is a housemate or stay-at-home parent who cares for the home and children but brings in a lesser income.
Unfortunately, many households believe the unemployed parent doesn’t need life insurance. Although they may not receive an income, they should still have a life insurance policy because their responsibilities include driving, babysitting, cooking, and cleaning. If something should happen to them, the surviving parent would need to pay someone else to provide these services, which could add up to $230,000 annually in Canada. This would lead to financial hardships.
Still, you may consider a separate policy or combined life insurance that allows both individuals to have the same insurer under different policies. Either option is best if one of you does not receive a physical income or has a different income level since distinct lifestyles or occupations lead to different coverage amounts.
Joint Life Insurance
However, if you and your partner qualify for joint life insurance, choose between joint-first-to-die and joint-last-to-die policies. Both policies are cheaper than combined or separate policies and provide one term, premium, and coverage amount for both individuals. Premiums, though, are more expensive since two people are under the policy.
Joint-First-to-Die
Joint-first-to-die policies only require one partner to die before paying out but automatically terminate within 30 days after this incident. If you want to continue your coverage, you must allow the insurance company to reinsure you within that time frame. You may also need a medical checkup to receive further coverage.
Joint-Last-to-Die
Joint-last-to-die policies require both policy-holding individuals to die before the beneficiaries receive death benefits. If one policyholder passes, the surviving insured individual must continue to pay the monthly premium until their demise. Only then do the beneficiaries receive the insurance payout.
However, if you have a joint-last-to-die term policy and only one of the insured passes within the policy’s timeframe, the insurance does not pay out. If you have a 10-, 20-, or 30-year term life insurance policy, both of the insured must die within the respective time or else the policy cancels without paying the benefits.
Insurance companies do not limit joint life insurance policies to married couples alone. Anyone from dating couples to business partners can take out joint life insurance policies after agreeing on their beneficiaries, term, and coverage amount.
What Alters Life Insurance Costs?
Life insurance for parents differs between individuals since the cost and payout of each insurance claim hinges on numerous factors.
- Health: Just as health insurance premiums are cheaper when you’re in optimal health, life insurance coverage is inexpensive if you pass your physical. The insurance company believes it won’t have to pay for a while, rewarding those without diabetes, high blood pressure, and other ailments with lower premiums.
- Family History: Health also has a lot to do with family history. If certain hereditary diseases are common in your family or throughout the generations, like cancer or strokes, there’s a good chance you may inherit them.
- Sex: Statistically, women live almost 10 years longer than men, meaning they’ll have a lower premium than men.
- Lifestyle and hobbies: While many of us prefer to do a puzzle on a Sunday afternoon, risk-takers love death-defying stunts like bungee jumping, skydiving, and mountain climbing, to name a few. These activities increase your chances of mortality, making your premium higher.
- Cost of your death benefit: Death benefits and premiums are in high correlation, meaning that when one goes up, so does the other. For a high payout for your loved ones, you’ll pay a larger monthly premium.
Alliance Income: We’ve Got You Covered
Anticipating a loved one’s death is unnerving, causing most parents to avoid considering life insurance. However, at Alliance Income, we want you to feel as comfortable as possible to take on whatever life throws your way. That’s why our insurance technology company provides options, allowing anyone looking for coverage to apply effortlessly online or through in-person interactions.
For over 20 years, we’ve partnered with top Canadian aggregator fintech for optimal customer satisfaction country-wide. For any coverage type, from life insurance for parents to group benefits and retirement coverage, complete our quote form to get a free quote from Alliance Income’s insurance specialists today!
