According to LV=’s Reaching Resilience report, which surveyed 4,000 people, the same proportion of parents with young children (37%) are also concerned about their families’ happiness.
Approximately 29% of parents with young children say they do not feel at all confident in their ability to financially cope if they were diagnosed with a critical illness.
The report stated that one in five parents said they would last less than one month without their income, and 15% would rely on loans or credit cards if unable to work for two months or more due to illness or injury.
Two in three parents are worried about the prospect of their child being seriously ill, with 5% of parents with young children saying they have had an injury that led to two months or more off work in the last three years.
Around 7% of those with young children have had to take unpaid time out of work for an ill child in the last three years.
The report said that the average working adult supports three people with their income, including themselves, with 10% saying that they have five or more people reliant on their income.
The report noted that a third of workers said their family’s financial security would be “largely impacted” if they were injured or had a major health problem.
However, only one in eight people have income protection cover that they pay for themselves.
‘Many parents are feeling unprepared’
Mike Farrell, protection sales and marketing director at LV=, said: “Our latest Reaching Resilience research found that many parents are feeling unprepared if they had to take time off work for health reasons.
“It is no surprise that parents are concerned about the wellbeing and happiness of their loved ones, yet some people will be unprepared for financial difficulty if they do not have the right financial safety net in place.
“Conditions such as cancer, heart attack or a stroke can have a devastating financial and emotional impact on families. Features such as LV=’s Enhanced Children’s Cover also offers parents who take out a policy to protect themselves the flexibility to also protect their children aged under 23 within our Life & Critical Illness products.”
Last month, research from Vitality Life showed that over half of those with critical illness cover are not fully aware of the conditions covered.
