One of the common reasons why people purchase life insurance is to replace income. Should an income earner pass away – especially one who has children depending on them – it could not only be emotionally devastating for the family, but it could also be financially debilitating.

If families are suddenly left without incoming cash, they could be left unable to pay the rent or mortgage, utility bills, transportation costs or even other necessities such as food costs. This unfortunately can lead to a need to change the family’s lifestyle – which is the last thing that a bereaved family needs, in the midst of coping with their loss.

By having life insurance, a pay-out could be used to replace income, so that children do not need to be uprooted from their homes and change their lives at an already difficult time.

This is why, when choosing life insurance to replace lost income, it is important to make sure you have enough.

But what if the life you are insuring doesn’t earn a regular income?

For example, stay at home mums and dads.

The value of a stay at home parent is often overlooked when families try and work out their life insurance needs.

Their job (which is likely to be unpaid) of child carer, cleaner, chef, counsellor, personal shopper, taxi service, dog walker… still has value and probably a much greater value than you think.

Even if you just consider the cost of child care - the typical cost of a full-time day nursery place is about £210 a week for a child younger than two. In some areas, such as London, the average cost rises to £280 according to www.babycentre.co.uk. If we just take this small part of the job spec into consideration, this puts the annual income of a stay at home parent at £10,000 to £15,000 per year.

So, what if the worst did happen and your family had to pay someone to do all of these jobs instead? How much would you have to pay to get all of the services the stay at home parent offers for free? Chores are very time consuming, and if you were to pay someone else to do all these chores, the chances are it would be very expensive!

Legal & General have been researching the value of a parent for over 30 years and they have recognised that parents tend to take their wages into account when deciding on a level of cover, but they often don't consider the unpaid domestic work they do. Their study, published in 2015, put a value of £29,535 on the domestic work a Mum does each year and £21,601 for Dad’s.

Insurance could be an ideal way to help financially protect your family in case a Mum (or Dad) was unable to cook, clean or look after the children due to death or critical illness – and we could help you find the right policy for your needs, at the right price.

Oh yes, and with Mother’s Day just around the corner, we think it’s the perfect time for your family to make you feel appreciated and truly valued for all the unpaid work that you do and we hope you get to have a rare day off on Sunday – Happy Mother’s Day!