As a new widow it’s hard to think much beyond surviving the immediate pain of losing your spouse. But as you grieve your spouse and begin to take steps to rebuild your family’s life without him, you’ll want to make sure you’re taking every step necessary to protect your estate and your children’s future. Begin by reviewing your current insurance policies as well as considering if you need any additional insurance. Remember to put beneficiaries on every policy or account you change over or open as a new account. Following is some information on maintaining your current health insurance (if you were covered under your spouse’s plan), and what you might want to consider for your own personal life and disability insurance.

Health Insurance

One of the biggest financial worries for widows is maintaining health insurance. By law you are eligible to maintain the policy you currently have under COBRA if your spouse was employed at the time of his death and was covered by his company’s health insurance plan. COBRA (which stands for Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act) covers you and your children for at least 18 months after your spouse’s death. You will still be required to pay the premium for the plan (including both your portion and your spouse’s former employer’s portion and a small administrative fee), but this way you won’t have to immediately find, qualify for, and pay for a new health insurance plan.  Learn more about health insurance and how to find, obtain and maintain coverage.  

Disability Insurance

Now that you’re the sole provider for your family it’s important that you consider what would happen if you were to become disabled. You don’t want to risk draining your retirement savings or putting your family in financial jeopardy. Depending on your policy, disability insurance will pay you a certain percentage of your salary if you’re unable to work. Policies vary widely in the length of time of time they’ll pay out – ranging from months to years. Check with your employer to see if they offer disability insurance. Many employers will offer it as a benefit with no or very low premiums. If your employer does not offer it as a benefit, you can purchase a policy from an independent insurance agent.   Learn more about disability insurance. 

Life Insurance

Life insurance is a very important part of your family’s financial plan. It cushions the financial stress of an unexpected death. Hopefully your spouse held a life insurance policy that is helping you meet your immediate financial needs. Now that you’re the sole provider for your own financial future and that of your children, consider purchasing a life insurance policy for yourself. There are two basic types of life insurance – term insurance or cash value insurance. Both policies will pay your beneficiaries a set amount in the event of your death. With term life insurance, you pay an annual premium that increases yearly, for a fixed payout if you die within the term, or length, of the policy. Policies vary in length. You cannot cash the policy in. Cash value insurance comes in three options – whole life, universal life or variable life insurance. All three are a combination of a life insurance policy and an automatic savings plan. When you die your beneficiaries will receive a death benefit as well as any cash value that the policy accrued while you were paying into the policy. A whole life insurance invests your premium in bonds so you’ll get a fixed return. Universal life will allow you to choose how much you want to invest through the policy. Anything you invest above the premium will be invested tax-deferred. Variable life policies will invest your investment in a wide variety of mutual funds, stocks, and bonds. Your premium will be paid out of your investment. To determine which type of policy would be best to meet your needs, you’ll need to decide whether you need protection for a specific amount of time or you need permanent financial protection. If you’re just looking for protection for a specific period of time, you’ll want to consider term insurance. If you’re looking for permanent financial protection or long-term coverage, look into whole, universal or variable life policies.

Learn more about life insurance including types of policies, how to choose a policy and how to budget to maintain your policy.