Family at risk when mom not insured

SPRINGFIELD, Mass., Oct. 14 (UPI) -- In tough economic times, families may be putting themselves at greater risk by placing more value on the man in the family, a U.S. insurance company says.

Beth Wood of the Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co., says that two-thirds of women work outside the home. The Mom Salary survey from Salary.com calculated that a stay-at-home mom brings $116,805 in services to the family each year -- yet, women are less likely than men to have life insurance.

In its most recent findings, a worldwide association of insurance and financial services companies, reports 36 percent of women are protected with group life insurance at work and 40 percent have their own individual policies, but women who do have life insurance on average have much less coverage than men.

"If a working woman dies or becomes disabled and cannot work or take care of the family, her husband may have to cut back his hours to stay at home or hire someone to care for the children -- and that makes financial matters worse," Wood says.