Hi everyone,

Today I want to talk about life insurance for the non working spouse, or for a spouse that is not a significant contributor to the cash income of the family.

My opinion used to be that you want to cover the non-working spouse, but you don’t need as much coverage as you do for the working spouse, since there is no income to replace. The idea was that you just would get a cushion for the time of need.

I have a client who lost his wife a little over a year ago. They did have life insurance for her, and it was very helpful. The death of his wife also changed his outlook on life, and he decided that he wanted to be around for his kids, who are around 10 years old, when they come home from school and during vacation. The policy amount and the its resulting returns barely covered his expenses.

I now feel that also the non income earning spouse should have an equal amount of life insurance coverage as the main cash provider. This will keep the options open, because you never know how you feel after a life changing event. With the low cost of life insurance, this is a worthwhile investment.

In a few days I will talk about the amount of coverage you should get.

Patrick