"Advisers can easily design personalised protection solutions to suit the unique requirements of their clients, making a real difference to them and their families."
- Mike Farrell, protection sales and marketing director at LV=
The protection, investment, and retirement specialist highlighted that working families are more vulnerable to financial shocks if they don’t adequately protect their income. Especially since a third of working adults currently support children living at home - 8% of which are supporting ‘adult children’.
Although married couples are more inclined to purchase income protection (IP), LV= noted that the take-up is still low with less than 15% of married couples protected. Encouraging advisers to highlight the importance of IP to this demographic, the insurer said that it is crucial married couples understand that not having the appropriate cover in place will affect long-term goals such as savings, buying a property, or becoming parents.
Similarly, the insurer warned that if a stay-at-home parent or caregiver became unable to carry out their duties, it could further impact household resilience, after finding that 28% of stay-at-home parents said their partner would have to take time off work if they were unable to look after their children due to illness or injury.
Commenting on these findings, Mike Farrell, protection sales and marketing director at LV=, has said:
“Our latest research found that more than half of working couples are reliant on a second income to pay monthly outgoings. When applying for protection cover, many people focus on the main earner, but the household contributions of stay-at-home parents and caregivers are equally significant. If they were unable to do their everyday tasks, this could create financial difficulty if the family doesn’t have the right safety net in place.
“Menu protection plans can offer a tailored approach so that families can maintain their lifestyle while protecting their individual personal incomes. Several protection policies can be combined into one process, such as Income Protection, Family Income Benefit or Critical Illness cover.
“Family dynamics are diverse and constantly changing. Contemporary protection has moved beyond having a single insurance policy to provide a more flexible financial safety net. We have been working with advisers to create a digital tool that will help them navigate the range of LV= protection options available.”
