“Congratulations. You’re a new mom. All of a sudden it’s not just about you anymore.”
A baby changes everything. Even though the average woman gets about nine months to prepare to give birth, nothing prepares you for the almost instantaneous life shift. Overnight you go from controlling everything in your life from your schedule to where you can go, to having to accommodate someone else.
On top of that, you’re trying to figure out how to keep everything from yourself to your pre-pregnancy clothes from literally falling apart at the seams! It’s daunting and overwhelming to say the least. As if all this wasn’t enough to push you over the edge, most new moms only have six weeks to get back to some semblance of their former life. Between the round the clock feedings and sleep deprivation, who can remember everything? Now that you have someone else who is wholly dependent upon you, what better time than right now to start thinking about life insurance?
Here at Nowsheknows.com, we know as a new mom you’re busier than you’ve ever been in your life, so we’re going to walk you through the process.
While we can’t help you get more sleep, we can help you sleep better when you do by giving you peace of mind.
“I know I need insurance but I don’t even know where to begin.”
The first thing we need to do is figure out how much you need. Being underinsured is almost as bad as not having insurance at all. Even though all moms want the same things for their newborns as far as safety, making sure they’re healthy etc, different kinds of moms have different needs when it comes to insurance. The amount of insurance you need depends on where you are in your life. You first need to do a quick assessment to find out which category you belong to
You’re a new single mom by choice or by chance
At this point in your life you’re raising your child all on your own. When deciding how much life insurance you need, you have special considerations to keep in mind.
You have to make provisions for who will take care of your child if you were no longer around. The father of the child may or may not be an option depending on your unique situation. In that case, you may have to look to someone else such as your parents, a sibling or a designated god parent. With 61% of households being headed by women, this is becoming more the norm, so you are not alone. On top of having to do the job of two parents, you alone have to make provisions for your child’s future.
You’re a new stay at home mom
Before you had the baby, you may have held a job in the workforce or were self employed. If you were in the workforce you may have had life insurance through your job. If you have decided to quit your job to take time off to be with your child, you may have lost your insurance coverage if it wasn’t portable. If that’s the case, you need to purchase a standalone life insurance policy.
You’re a married stay at home mom
If you are a married stay at home mom, it might be a good time to review your husband’s insurance coverage. If you will not be returning to the workforce for a while, you may want to consider increasing the coverage you have on him because now that you are down to one income, his coverage amount may no longer be sufficient.
You’re a new mom who’s on maternity leave
You worked through most of your pregnancy. You fully intend to go back to work when you exhaust your maternity leave. Right now you have benefits through your job that include life insurance. As soon as you get back to work you need to head straight to human resources to review your coverage. If you have life insurance, you need to find out how much and if it’s portable should you leave that job. If you find you are inadequately insured or that your plan won’t go with you when you leave, you need to look into an individual life policy.
No matter which category you fall into, all roads lead to making sure you have adequate life insurance. It stands to reason that if you are no longer around, someone is going to have to take care of your child. You want to make sure that whoever ends up taking care of your child is taken care of. Simply put, you don’t want to place a financial burden on the person who may end up raising your child. You want to make sure that person has enough to ensure your child has the kind of life you envision for them.
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