We live in a world of equality …. where discrimination based on age, race or orientation is not tolerated in any form. Without getting into the great 'pay parity' debate, it would probably surprise you to know that many NZ women are covered for far less than their male counterparts.
The perception seems to be that if you earn less, then your insurance cover should reflect this - it's fair to say that there are still some pretty 'traditional' attitudes in NZ when it comes to all things financial.
"What if" scenarios are always handy to illustrate…
You are a self-employed businessman, living the dream. You have nice house (albeit owned mostly by the bank), a wonderful wife who doesn't need to work, and two kids that you could easily give away at times, but love to death. You have just conquered work/life balance, and business is booming. Your business is sorted with key person and shareholder protection insurance, you also have business continuation cover and some personal life insurance that will pay your mortgage in the event of your death.
What if your wife was diagnosed with cancer?
The value of being a stay at home mum is often underestimated when it comes to insurance. Whilst not making a financial contribution to the running of the household, consider the list below to put costs into perspective:
-Full time nanny: $36,660 a year
-Cleaning service: $5,200 a year
-Personal shoppers: $13,520 a year
-Chef: $12,480 a year
-Financial services: $15 per hour
-PR assistant (appearances at business dinners etc): $75 an hour
-Laundry service: $25 a week
That is in excess of $70,000 a year, and doesn't even take into account the personal chauffeur for ferrying the kids to their various activities. As a caring and loving husband, you may also want to take a considerable chunk of time away from the business to support your wife through treatment and recovery. Having the right insurance cover in place for your partner will give you the choice to do this.