Our latest Cost of a Child study shows it now costs parents more money to raise a child than buy the family home. And despite child costs rising to a record £231,843 from birth to age 21, less than half of parents have financial protection in place if they lost their income.

The cost of raising children and positioning the need for protection

  •  The average cost of raising a child now takes up more than a third (38%) of annual household net income. Using a budget planner will help your clients visualise their combined household spend, helping them appreciate how much they have to lose and why protection is important.
  • Highlighting the cost of raising children could fall on deaf ears if clients think they’re immune to illness or injury. Our Risk Reality Calculator can help you put things into perspective, helping you position the need for protection.
  • There are a number of products and options available to help safeguard future child rearing costs. Income protection will protect families against the biggest risk they’re exposed to: losing an income due to long-term ill health. Family Income Assurance from LV= will pay out every three months (for the remaining term of the policy) if the insured parent dies (or is diagnosed with a terminal illness). And if you’re recommending life insurance, you could put the cover in trust, to benefit any children once they reach a specific age (typically 18). This money could be used to pay higher education costs – current annual living expenses for university students already exceeds £12,000 a year (outside of London).
  • Some working families might consider protection too expensive. But, there are ways to bring down the cost to meet your client’s budget, including recommending reducing life and critical illness cover, and looking at a budget income protection policy.
  • If clients are planning on starting a family in the future, it’s still worth discussing protection as the premiums get more expensive with age.

We’ve produced a Cost of a Child infographic you can share with your clients to help get the conversation started.

It’s separated into bite-sized information that’s easy to understand and highlights all the costs associated with raising children.

To find out more about our Cost of a Child study, or find out other ways LV= can help you successfully recommend protection, please contact us on the details below.

 

Kind regards,

 

LV= Protection

T: 0800 678 1890

E: ifasupport@lv.com

We may record and/or monitor your calls for training and audit purposes.
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