6 Benefits of Gifting a Life Insurance Cover to Your Spouse

When it comes to gifts, especially for your better half, jewellery, vacation, and clothing might be the first to come to your mind. What if you could gift something that makes her feel the value she holds in the family? Moreover, life insurance will also ultimately protect the family she cares for so deeply. It offers financial security, supporting long-term goals, and ensuring the family stays protected during life’s unexpected turns. In this blog, we will discuss the top benefits of gifting a cover to your spouse.

Why You Should Get Life Insurance for Your Homemaker Spouse?

Life insurance for homemakers is not just about financial security; it's about recognising her value, protecting her health, and securing your family's future. Here are 5 compelling reasons for you to gift a life insurance plan to your spouse.

Protect the Economic Value of the Homemaker

The most basic benefit of any life insurance is that it protects your economic value for your family and dependents. It will do the same for your spouse. On the question of your homemaker spouse’s human life value, there is a simple way to estimate.

If your wife is earning, adequate life cover is  10 - 15 times her annual income. However, if she is a homemaker, we need to see the contribution’s market cost, if we are to replace her with commercial alternatives.

If we take out the emotional presence, the homemaker is managing the house, ensuring proper nutrition, teaching the children, shopping for the house and family, and taking care of the children’s communication needs.

Replacing all these activities can easily cost you anywhere from ₹25,000 to ₹40,000 a month. If we want to draw this sum from a pool of funds, we’ll need approximately ₹. 50 to ₹ 70 lakhs. Thus, the economic value of your spouse is significantly high and easily warrants an adequate life cover.

Make Her Feel Valued for Her Contributions

Imagine being financially dependent on someone in your adult life. Feels restraining, doesn’t it? Financial dependence often makes people hold back and compromise on the things they want in life. Homemakers are no exception to this feeling.

You may be trying your best to make her feel good with all kinds of gifts, but most usual gifts only bring temporary joy and long-term dependence. On the other hand, long-term financial gifts, such as investments, grow over time and will make her feel wealthier over time.

While she can make and even contribute to her future financial goals with investment gifts, life insurance can always protect her loved ones financially.

Protect Her Against Life-Threatening Diseases

Some of the best term insurance plans, like iSelect Smart360 Term Plan by Canara HSBC Life Insurance , have inbuilt cover for terminal diseases. Life-threatening diseases from an insurer’s perspective are those illnesses which may have treatment available but are:

• Unpredictable in severity

• Treatment doesn’t guarantee 100% success

• May leave the person incapable of economic contribution for a long time, even if not leading to the untimely demise

A few examples of such illnesses are cancer, heart failure, and kidney failure etc. Life insurance plans, such as the iSelect Smart360 Term Plan by Canara HSBC Life Insurance, which include critical illness cover as a built-in feature, will provide financial assistance at the stage of diagnosis. This is important as you will not only need money to afford the best possible treatment, but you will also need to run your household as smoothly as possible during such a time.

Protection against Accidental Disabilities

Accidents may happen with or without anyone’s mistake and can have a long-lasting impact on the lives of the victims. If you or your spouse acquires disability due to an accident, your ability to contribute to your family’s welfare suffers.

Also, you will need additional support in the way of medicines and modifications to home and vehicles, so that you can still perform as many duties as possible for yourself. An accidental disability benefit provides the financial assistance you will need for your family.

You can take care of your household and spouse if she suffers a disability from an accident. Remember that term insurance cover will not offer any support unless it’s a case of untimely demise. But you still need to spend money on taking care of your spouse, your household, and if need be, even modify the infrastructure to make her life easier.

Help Her Leave an Estate for the Next Generations

Immovable properties and estate have always been a preferred way for financially independent people to stay in the memories of their progeny. Not that your children will not remember you without the wealth, but an estate works as a monument in the family tree.

What could be better than you helping your spouse leave an estate for her children and grandchildren? And yes, a life insurance plan can help you achieve that.

Some of the best term life insurance plans offer whole life term cover till the age of 99. The iSelect Smart360 Term Plan term insurance by  Canara HSBC Life Insurance offers 99 years of term cover with a limited premium payment option. So, you can pay all the premiums before the retirement age of 60.

You can also get the whole life cover with a return of premium option. This plan will return all the premiums you have paid for the life cover once your spouse reaches the age of 60. However, the life cover continues and pays the nominees upon her natural demise.

How to Get a Term Life Insurance for Your Spouse?

You can get term life insurance for your spouse in two simple ways: either buy an independent policy in your spouse’s name or add them to your existing policy using a spouse cover feature.

For example, the iSelect Smart360 Term Plan by Canara HSBC Life Insurance lets you cover both yourself and your spouse under one plan, offering flexibility and cost-efficiency.

Add Your Spouse Under Spouse Cover

If you already have a term policy, check whether it offers a spouse addition option. With this plan, you can add your spouse at the start or within one year of marriage, subject to underwriting conditions. Both of you get separate sum assured and remain covered throughout the term.

• On first death or terminal illness, the respective sum assured is paid.

• The policy continues for the surviving spouse with a reduced premium.

• On the second unfortunate event, the sum assured is again paid, and the policy ends.

Buy a Separate Term Plan for Your Spouse

If you prefer separate policies, especially when your spouse is working, they can choose their own sum assured, riders, and payout options. This offers greater flexibility and personalised coverage.

What If Your Spouse Is a Homemaker?

Non-working spouses are also eligible. However, in this case:

• The sum assured is fixed at ₹25,00,000.

• Benefit payout is only available as a lump sum.

• In-built rider options are not offered.

Age and Premium Consideration

Age plays a crucial role in determining the premium amount for term life insurance. When you add your spouse to an existing policy or buy a joint cover, the insurer considers the age of both individuals to calculate the total premium.

If you and your spouse are almost the same age, the combined premium is likely to remain affordable. However, a significant age gap may result in a higher premium, especially if one partner is older or has pre-existing health conditions.

Final Thoughts 

Gifting a term life insurance policy to your homemaker spouse is a powerful expression of love, respect, and long-term security. It safeguards your family’s financial stability as well as acknowledges her irreplaceable role in your life. Whether she is a working professional or a homemaker, a thoughtfully chosen life insurance plan offers peace of mind, health protection, and a meaningful legacy.