Parents in Ireland urgently need to review their family financial planning, especially with regard to life insurance cover to protect their family and their lifestyle, according to a new report from Aviva.
In Ireland, 59% of adults and 42% of parents have no life assurance cover whatsoever, and 80% of adults ‘do not worry’ about the level of life cover they have, Aviva said.
At the same time, the need for life insurance cover is beyond doubt, with most parents (54%) admitting they would be unable to maintain their lifestyle, if their partner were to die.
Aviva has accused parents in Ireland of taking a ‘head in the sand’ approach to their family financial planning, claiming that 4 in 10 parents risk leaving children and dependents with no financial safety net.
Furthermore, Aviva found that 82% of all adults surveyed and 68% of parents did not have a will.
Writing a will is crucial and a general inheritance planning strategy is essential, as a means of ensuring that your wishes are clearly understood and correctly implemented when you die. A will can also be used to define who should act as guardians for your children, if both parents die before the children are 18. Where a will is not in place, you die ‘intestate’ and the laws of the state govern the distribution of your wealth, which may differ from your personal intentions.
Keeping a will up to date is also crucial. For example, if you have a will as a single person, that will becomes invalid when you marry.
The birth of a child appears to mark a clear turning point in most people’s financial thinking. Aviva found that, for 53% of parents, the birth of a first child triggered thoughts of improving their financial planning.
With its ‘New Parent Free Life Cover’ policy, Aviva is now offering new parents free life assurance of Euro 10,000 to cover their lives up until their new child’s first birthday.
*Source: Aviva Parents & Protection Study 2010. Covered 1,000 adults aged 18-44 years in the Republic of Ireland
As a father first, then a financial adviser, but with both hats. I think it is criminal that a parent does not spend the small amount of money to ensure that if the worst were to happen that their poor children, and remaining spouse would not be cared for financially. Please comment anyone that does not agree