Homemakers more at risk if the unexpected happens

Did you know that the value of unpaid work in Australia is $345billion?

This is the figure calculated by PwC in their report “Understanding the Unpaid Economy”.

Yet stay-at-home parents and homemakers are less likely to have financial protection if the unexpected were to happen.

Results from research commissioned by NobleOak in December 2018 shows that this group lags behind other occupations when it comes to having some form of Life Insurance (including Life/Death cover, TPD cover or Trauma cover).

Of all respondents who said they had some form of cover only 47% of stay-at-home parents/homemakers said they had cover.

In addition, the percentage of people in this category with cover has reduced from 55% in our 2016 survey to 47% in 2018. This trend is very concerning as people underestimate the importance of the homemaker when it comes to the value of unpaid work.

For example, if the stay-at-home parent were to get seriously ill or pass away, the many important tasks they perform such as cooking, cleaning, and childcare would have to be done by someone else. This could be the other parent or by paying someone else, which could prove very costly, particularly over the longer term.

Many people still don’t think of his or her contribution in looking after the household domestic duties as having much financial value, but it certainly does, particularly when you consider that to replace this person would require significant funds.

The research discovered 61% of stay-at-home parents would dip into their savings to cope financially if they could not work.

People in the white-collar professional category, including doctors, dentists and lawyers are the most likely to be covered (69%), followed by white collar workers (65%) and tradesmen (61%).

The research also shows that the percentage of tradesmen with Life Insurance has increased from 44% in 2017 to 61% in 2018. Compared to the 2016 and 2017 survey results, the number of tradies covered has increased by approximately 38%.