A new roof, fresh vinyl siding, the gutting and redoing of two bathrooms, installation of a new hot water heater, and the transformation of an ironically dank sunroom and a slim, cluttered garage into one massive, high-ceilinged family room.
Those are the ambitious (read: expensive) home improvement projects we began and completed in anticipation of me leaving corporate America for the at-home dad, freelance work life.
Ringing up massive debt may seem a curious, circuitous route to go about cutting household income but it made perfect sense to us. You see, we figured we would anticipate and then get out in front of any and all big ticket repairs before making dramatic changes to our household income. Then, once that debt was all paid off, we could realistically and more securely have me jump into the dad life full time.
The other thing we needed to think long and hard about – because of that debt, because I was no longer going to be gainfully employed, and because I had become a dad for the 2nd time – was life insurance. While I adore our merlot-hued shutters and evocative sandstone siding, buying myself adequate coverage to help financially protect my family ranks much higher than any new roof, glistening bathroom, or even the fanciest of hot water heaters. (Fortunately, life insurance is a lot more affordable, too.)
More middle-aged people like me are deciding to leave corporate life in order to focus on the job of parenting and/or for freelance work and entrepreneurial endeavors they feel more passionately about. Millennials and teens are also growing up to discover a more wide-open gig economy and employment future than any generation has enjoyed previously. With all of that comes a lack of employer-sponsored life insurance, which is often inadequate anyway (we’ll come back to this). With that said, the availability and affordability of convenient life insurance – along with understanding how much coverage you need and having a financial backup plan in place – becomes more important than ever.
The Future of Life Insurance for the Freelance Life in the New Gig Economy
Online life insurance agency Haven Life enables freelancers to quickly and easily apply for dependable term life insurance to protect their partner and kids while also staying laser focused on the bottom line.
Of course, even those with a proper day job in corporate America need to think about beefier life insurance coverage because employer-provided plans usually don’t offer adequate coverage. A group life insurance policy is sometimes offered as part of your employer benefits, albeit usually in a small dollar value of one to two times your annual salary, which is a nice starting point for protecting loved ones but often not adequate to fully protect your family should you one day not be around to provide for them financially. As a rule of thumb, many experts recommend having a policy that’s 5 to 10 times your income.
Along with a steady bi-weekly paycheck, my employer’s plan is what I gave up when I left corporate America for the at-home dad/work-at-home freelance life. The onus was then solely on my shoulders to buy life insurance to protect my family should something happen to me.
Luckily, we live in the future and Haven Life is now a thing, meaning buying life insurance online is just about as easy-peasy as we can get.
Haven Life has made buying life insurance actually simple. You can apply online and receive an immediate decision on affordable coverage. If approved, you can be covered that day. As one example, a healthy 35-year old male can purchase a 20 year, $500,000 Haven Term policy, issued by MassMutual, starting at about $21 per month. You can just as easily get an estimate for coverage here.
All of this can be done from the comfort of your kitchen table while feeding your babies, your sofa while streaming your favorite show, beneath the covers trying to stay warm while waiting patiently for winter to finally pack up and go, while enjoying the sight of your kids running around pretending to be superheroes as you finish up that freelance gig, while putting away the groceries, and while living your best freelance life knowing your family is protected.
Haven Term is a Term Life Insurance Policy (ICC15DTC) issued by Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual), Springfield, MA 01111 and offered exclusively through Haven Life Insurance Agency, LLC. Not all riders are available in all states. Our Agency license number in California is 0K71922 and in Arkansas, 100139527.
*This story has been told in partnership with Haven Life.
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