JOHANNESBURG - More than 40 percent of South African households are headed by women.
Almost eight million women are sole breadwinners.
But, what happens when that income is threatened?
It could be anything from minor illnesses to major surgery.
Income protection insurance provides some relief.
"It's really important for each of those women to ask what is going to happen if something happens to them, how long are they going to be able to protect their families and pay their expenses," said Melody Cloete from Bidvest Life.
"Should something happen that they are not able to earn an income, and that's what income protection does for you, is should you get ill, should you get an injury where you're not able to work for a period of time, it's that income protection that's going to pay for everything that you need to spend money on a monthly basis."