A person who is a stay at home mom, otherwise known as a housewife, probably doesn’t have a job. However, that mom is doing a whole lot of work, every single day. Imagine how much it would cost to hire someone to do all the work that a housewife does for free. An insurance company in Australia has done just that, and now has an insurance policy for housewives.
If you were to list all the tasks that a typical housewife does every day, it would create a very demanding job description. Applicants must be available to work as early as six in the morning, and to continue to complete tasks until as late as nine or ten in the evening. Applicants are considered to be “on call” after the work day ends. Responsibilities include: dishes (washing and putting away), laundry, (gathering, sorting, washing, folding and putting away), keeping all tables, counters, and flat surfaces clean and free from dirt, and sweeping and mopping of floors.
Must prepare, cook, and serve at least three meals per day, often at the last minute, to very demanding “customers”. Must watch, dress, change, entertain, and otherwise care for children of mixed ages while completing other tasks. Will be responsible for all shopping and transportation needs. This job doesn’t offer vacation days, sick days, or breaks. The salary is: zero.
No one in their right mind would accept a job like this. However, this is what actual housewives are doing, every day, year after year. If that housewife became unavailable it would cost a lot of money to hire people to do all that work. Where would that money come from?
An insurance company in Australia called Million Dollar Woman has created an insurance policy for housewives. The policy itself costs just $2.50 a day (in Australian dollars, I assume). If a housewife becomes too injured to do the work she typically would be doing, the insurance policy can be used.
It would give the insured housewife up to $900.00 a week, for a total of thirteen weeks. The money would go towards hiring someone else to do the chores that the housewife herself cannot. In order to have the policy pay out, a doctor would have to assess the housewife, and decide that her injury would make her unable to preform at least two of the following five jobs: laundry, shopping, cooking, cleaning, and child care. This type of policy is not yet available in the United States.
Image by KellyK on Flickr