Does a Non-Working Spouse Need Term Insurance?

The dynamics between a working and a non-working spouse isn’t unlike that of Superman and Batman from Justice League. The working spouse gets the spotlight like superman. Thanks to the visibility offered by a promising career and the respect granted by society for earning a handsome income, the working spouse is always the cynosure of all eyes. However a non-working spouse works in the shadows like Batman and hardly gets credit for fulfilling responsibilities, let alone going the extra mile.

Let us look at what a non-working spouse has to do:

• Manages house

  When one spouse is working, the other manages the house. Keeping the house clean, washing the utensils and clothes, drying the clothes – there are chores abound. In many cases, it is a back breaking and physically demanding responsibility. Even with the availability of appliances such as washing machine, vacuum cleaner or dish washers one does have to invest a minimum number of hours in managing a house.

• Cooking

  A good cook in a decent area in a leading metropolis like Mumbai will charge nothing less than Rs 5,000 per month. Whereas the non-working spouse cooks for free. And it isn’t just about cooking 3 meals a day, but also whipping up snacks or milkshakes or other beverages when guests come home.

• Takes care of children

  The spouse who manages the home, also ends up spending the most time with children. Picking up the children after a long day, mentoring them, ensuring that they are receiving proper nourishment, resolving emotional conflicts etc. These tasks are both laborious and exhaustive.

• Teaches children

  The cost of tuition classes can go up to one lakh per year per child. But a non-working spouse ends up teaching children for free. This certainly isn’t an easy task as the parent will have to brush up one’s own knowledge by reading up and then teach the children. The parent will also need to make sure that only correct information is passed on.

• Ferries children around

  In a single day, a typical Indian child spends more than 2 to 3 hours in pursuing extracurricular activities after spending the usual 8 hours in school. These undertakings may include tuitions, football coaching, swimming class etc. Some families may have a driver with a car to ferry the child around. However in most cases the non-working spouse is also involved in dropping off and fetching the child to and fro from the school as well as from these other centers of activities.

• Emotional companionship

  What is highly underrated, almost to the point of ignorance, is the emotional support offered by the non-working spouse to all the members of the household. The non-working spouse has to be available for comforting the working spouse, caring for the children as well as being there for the senior parents.

  The non-working spouse is holding a responsibility that doesn’t offer salary, bonus, perks, promotions or favourable recommendations. Holidays? What are those? In fact, the term non-working spouse itself is a misnomer and should be renamed as always working spouse. In most cases in India, the ‘always working spouse’ is a woman. Imagine if the ‘always working spouse’ is no more. Keeping the emotional damage completely aside, one can account for a financial implications. Estimate could be Rs 8,000 per month per child for tuition, Rs 8,000 per month for a dependable nanny, Rs 5000 per month for a good cook, Rs 4000 per month for a maid who can clean the house. This works out to be around Rs 25,000 per month which is equivalent to an yearly spend of Rs 3 lakhs. Many reading this would agree that the amount is on the lower side of the spectrum. A term insurance cover, such as HDFC Life Click2Protect Life for your ‘always working spouse’, will at least help you tide over the financial damages of her absence.

Similar Articles

• Term Life Plan vs Money Back Plan - Know Before Buying
• Importance of Riders in Term Plans - Choose Wisely
• Term Insurance and why it is important for everybody
• How to find best term insurance plan in India
• Salient features of a Term Insurance Plan

Buy Term Insurance

Calculate Premium