Should Your Husband Have Bigger Life Insurance Coverage? A Filipino Wife’s Guide to Protection
Discover why many Filipino husbands need bigger life insurance, how to protect your kids and lifestyle, and what every wise wife must check today.
INSURANCE PLANNING
12/10/20258 min read
Should Your Husband Have Bigger Life Insurance?
A Filipino Wife’s Guide to Protection
By David Isaiah Angway RFP
If your husband is the main breadwinner, here’s the real question:
If he doesn’t come home tomorrow, can you keep your home, keep the kids in school, and maintain your lifestyle with only your income and savings?
The main concern is financial security, not romance or tradition. That’s why many husbands need more life insurance coverage than their wives.
This isn’t about putting a higher “price tag” on his life.
It’s about making sure you and your children are protected if something unexpected happens.
TL;DR (Read This First)
If your husband is the main provider, his life insurance should cover the financial loss your family would face if he passed away.
In many Filipino families, the husband pays most bills and bears the main financial burden. If his coverage is too small, the wife and children may have to sell the house, take the kids out of school, or move back in with their parents.
Use this guide to:
Understand the Filipino protection gap.
Learn from two stories: one husband who prepared, and one who didn’t
Calculate how much coverage your husband may really need.
Start a calm, honest money conversation at home.
Table of Contents
The Reality: Breadwinners Are Still Underprotected
Let’s start with what’s happening in the Philippines:
A Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) survey showed that only about 23% of Filipino adults had life insurance in 2019. (Pru Life UK summary)
Insurance penetration (premiums as a % of GDP) is below 2%, among the lowest in the region. (Insurance Business)
A market survey in NCR, Cebu, and Davao found that only around 50% of breadwinners even consider life insurance important. (SunStar Publishing Inc.)
Swiss Re Institute estimates that about 75% of families in developing countries like the Philippines are financially vulnerable when a breadwinner dies — a massive “mortality protection gap.” (BDO Philippines summary)
Let’s see how this plays out in a typical Filipino family:
His income pays for the house, tuition, car, bills, and sometimes extended family.
Result?
For many Filipino wives and kids, losing the breadwinner could mean facing serious financial problems.
When someone says, “Your husband should have more coverage than you,” here’s what they mean:
The person whose loss would affect the family’s finances the most should have the largest safety net.
In many families, that person is still the husband.
Story 1: The Husband Who Said Yes Early (Marco & Lea)
Meet Marco and Lea from Laguna (composite story based on real Filipino situations):
Marco, 36 – worked in IT in BGC.
Lea, 34 – part-time online seller + hands-on mom
Two kids: 5 and 8
About 70–80% of the mortgage, car loan, tuition, and everyday bills depended on Marco’s income.
One Sunday after church, a friend shared how their cousin died of a heart attack at 40, leaving his family almost nothing.
On the drive home, Lea asked:
“Love, if something happens to you, paano kami? Kaya ko bang bayaran lahat nito?”
That week, they met with a financial advisor.
What they discovered
After doing the math, they realized:
Their monthly expenses, loans, and future tuition would need at least ₱10 million in coverage if Marco died.
They added up:
Mortgage balance
Estimated tuition until college
Living expenses for the next 10 years
The income Marco would have provided at that time.
The plan they put in place
Marco got:
₱8M term life insurance (pure protection)
₱2M VUL (long-term protection + investment)
Lea got:
₱2M coverage, enough to cover childcare and basic expenses if something happened to her.
Their total premium was about ₱5,000 per month. They could afford this because they chose protection over buying gadgets or eating out often.
What happened next
Three years later, Marco had a mild stroke.
He survived.
He recovered.
He returned to work. Lea’s perspective changed.
For Lea, things changed.
She told a friend, “Before, every time he worked late or traveled, I was quietly worried.
Now, I still worry about his health, but at least if anything happens to him, I know I can protect our home and our children’s future. I can breathe, and that peace of mind is priceless.”
Marco’s decision to get more coverage wasn’t about ego.
It was his way of saying:
“If I’m gone, you won’t go back to zero.”
That’s what the right coverage does for a wife:
It gives you options, not panic.
Story 2: The Husband Who Said “Sayang ang Premium” (Ray & Ana)
Now meet Ray and Ana from Quezon City:
Ray, 42 – sales manager with good commission
Ana, 39 – part-time worker + full-time mom to three kids
They had:
A condo in QC
A car
Kids in private school
Their advisor followed up with Ray for 2 years about getting proper coverage.
Every time, Ray would say:
“Next year na, marami pang gastos.”
“Ang mahal, baka di ko naman magamit.”
“May health card naman ako.”
He finally agreed to a small policy:
₱1.5M coverage, just so “meron lang”.
Then the pandemic hit
Ray caught COVID and passed away.
Within months:
The ₱1.5M payout helped, but it disappeared quickly:
Hospital balance
Funeral costs
A few months of bills
Ana’s part-time income couldn’t sustain:
Condo amortization
Tuition fees
Daily living expenses
Within a year:
They sold the condo and moved back in with Ana’s parents.
The kids transferred from private to public school.
Ana juggled two jobs and side hustles to survive.
One night, exhausted, she told her sister:
“Nakakahiya man, but if only he had listened earlier and gotten bigger coverage, we wouldn’t have to start from scratch.
Hindi ko siya minahal ng kulang… pero kulang yung naging proteksyon namin.”
Ray didn’t leave his family unprotected because he didn’t love them.
He left them unprotected because he thought premiums were “sayang.”
The tragedy wasn’t just his death.
The deeper tragedy was missing the chance to give his wife and kids time and stability. That decision changed their future.
What These Two Husbands Teach Us
Let’s set aside emotion for a moment and focus on the lesson.
Husband 1: Marco (took action)
Knew he was the main financial engine
Got coverage aligned with his actual financial value to the family
If he dies:
The family keeps the house.
Kids stay in school
Lea has 5–10 years of breathing room to rebuild
Husband 2: Ray (delayed, got “bare minimum”)
Also, the main financial engine
Waited too long and settled for too little coverage.
When he died:
The family downgraded everything.
Ana carried emotional pain + financial chaos.
Same love for family.
Same Filipino values.
They made different choices, and their families ended up with different results.
The real question for every wife is:
“Saan banda kami mas hawig — kay Marco and Lea, or kay Ray and Ana?”
Next, let's discuss how to determine the proper coverage.
Don’t just pick a random number like “₱500K is okay na yan.”
Start with this simple framework:
1. Replace his income
Target: 10–20× his annual income
If he earns ₱1,000,000/year → aim for ₱10M–₱20M in coverage
This amount doesn’t have to come from one policy. It can be a mix of:
Term insurance
VUL
Group coverage from work (if any)
2. Add big-ticket items he is responsible for
List what is tied to his income:
Housing loan balance
Car loan
Business loans or utang sa kamag-anak
Kids’ remaining tuition until graduation
3. Adjust based on your earning capacity
Ask yourself honestly:
If he’s gone, how much of your current monthly expenses can you cover from your own income?
30–40%?
50%?
Less?
If:
You can only cover 30–40%, then his coverage has to be higher.
If you also earn a significant income and carry big responsibilities, you also need solid coverage.
In dual-income families:
Both spouses should calculate coverage based on their combined contribution, so losing either income doesn’t destroy the family’s stability.
Remember:
The goal of life insurance is to give the surviving spouse time and choices, not wealth.
Why Husbands Often Need Bigger Coverage in Filipino Homes
Look at your own situation.
If this is your family:
Husband pays:
60–90% of rent/mortgage
A big part of tuition fees
Most of the groceries, utilities, and car
Wife’s income is:
Part-time
Home-based
Or focused mainly on child care.
So, it makes sense that:
If he dies, the monthly financial damage is much bigger than if you die.
That’s why his coverage often needs to be:
Bigger than yours, and
Structured to cover:
5–10 years of living expenses
Outstanding loans
Education funding for the kids
This is not about saying your life is less valuable.
It’s about seeing that in many Filipino homes, the husband’s income is the main support, so that’s where the strongest protection should be.
How to Talk to Your Husband Without Starting a Fight
You don’t need a finance degree to start this conversation.
You can say something like:
“Love, can I share something with you?
I’ve been thinking… if something happens to you, I don’t want to depend on our parents or be forced to sell the house or pull the kids out of school.
Right now, most of our expenses depend on your income. That’s why I feel your life insurance coverage should be bigger than mine.
It’s not that my life is less important. It’s just that if you go first, I need a financial safety net so I can take care of the kids and have time to recover.”
Then, together, answer three simple questions:
How much do we spend in a month?
If you’re gone, how many years do we want that covered?
How big is your current coverage vs that target?
If the gap is big?
That’s your deficit, and it’s the gap you can slowly fix with proper planning.
Wife’s Quick Checklist: Is His Coverage Enough?
Grab a pen (or your Notes app) and check all that apply:
He is the main or higher earner in the family.
His income pays for the house, car, and kids’ tuition.
If he dies, my income alone cannot cover our current expenses for more than 6–12 months.
We still have significant loans (housing, car, business, personal).
We have kids below 21 who still depend on us fully.
I don’t have a clear written plan on how to survive financially without him.
If you checked three or more, there’s a good chance his current coverage isn’t enough.
That doesn’t mean panic.
It just means now is the time to act, while he’s healthy and insurable.
Final Thought: Bigger Coverage Means Showing Bigger Love in Action
Filipino husbands will often say:
“I’d die for my family, anytime.”
Life insurance does not ask him to die.
It’s about showing love in a financially responsible way while he’s still here.
And as a wife, your role isn’t to nag or pressure.
Your role is to understand the risk and say:
“Ayokong maging ulila, emotionally and financially, if something happens to you.
Let’s make a plan now, habang kaya pa.”
Getting the right life insurance is not just about money.
It’s about giving your family time, dignity, and choices during the hardest times.
You Don’t Have to Figure This Out Alone
Wives, you don’t have to do all the math by yourself.
If you’re reading this and thinking, “Hindi ko alam kung tama na yung coverage niya…”
You can:
Join my email list to get practical guides on life insurance, estate planning, and money decisions for Filipino families. Everything is written in plain language, with no jargon and no pressure.
Or book a quick 15-minute Protection Check-Up so we can walk through your numbers and see if your husband’s coverage is truly enough for your real life.
Your future self and your kids will thank you for starting this conversation today.
© 2025 David Angway