# Life and disability insurance, beneficiaries, emergency fund

**What life insurance and emergency savings do new parents need?**

Protecting your family's finances if a parent dies or cannot work: life and disability insurance, who is named to receive the money, and an emergency savings fund.

In short: Parents choose between 3 main approaches: None; Basic cover; Full plan before the birth. Evidence: your call. No outcome evidence picks a winner. Preference, culture, money and logistics decide. Best settled: during pregnancy.

- Area: Legal, financial and "what if" planning
- Evidence: Your call
- Best settled: During pregnancy
- First published: 2026-10-03
- Last updated: 2026-10-05
- Page: https://www.raisingyourchild.com/topics/legal-financial-and-what-if-planning--life-and-disability-insurance-beneficiaries-emergency-fund

## Life and disability insurance, beneficiaries, emergency fund: what are the options?

1. **None**: You have no insurance or savings set aside for this.
2. **Basic cover**: You have some life insurance, often through work.
3. **Full plan before the birth**: Before the baby arrives you have life and disability insurance, updated beneficiaries and several months of expenses saved.

## Life and disability insurance, beneficiaries, emergency fund: what does the evidence say?

**Your call.** No outcome evidence picks a winner. Preference, culture, money and logistics decide.

Named as an ownership card in Fair Play; no coverage data gathered

Sources:

- [card definitions](https://pretentiousmama.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/21aba-fairplaycarddefinitions.pdf)

## What else is worth knowing?

Life insurance pays out if a parent dies; disability insurance replaces income if a parent cannot work. An emergency fund covers a few months of expenses. A child's arrival is the usual time to review all three.

## Questions to ask each other

- How much would our family need if one of us died or could not work?
- Who are our beneficiaries and do they need updating?
- What is our emergency fund and is it enough?

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General information, not medical advice. Two parents can each answer this and compare: https://www.raisingyourchild.com/explore?cat=legal-financial-and-what-if-planning&topic=legal-financial-and-what-if-planning--life-and-disability-insurance-beneficiaries-emergency-fund