Over half (52 per cent) of working parents have no form of financial protection policy in place should they have to take time off work to care for their child if they were unwell, research from MetLife UK has found.
Among those without protection, 56 per cent were self-employed, 65 per cent worked part-time, and 39 per cent were employed on zero-hour contracts.
MetLife UK head of individual protection, Rich Horner, said: “While the cohort of working parents with financial protection in place for themselves is promising, many of these policies won’t cover them financially in the event of needing to take time off work.
“For many, particularly those who must take the time off unpaid, self-employed workers, or those on zero-hours contracts, this could have a severe financial impact.”
Looking at the perception and uptake of financial protection policies among the UK’s working parents, the research found that the main deterrents of having any financial protection in place included affordability concerns (44 per cent).
This was ahead of a lack of awareness of these types of products (20 per cent), and general disinterest in taking out insurance policies (9 per cent).
However, while most working parents are without formal protection to cover their pay in the event they need to take off work or spend time away from their business to care for their injured child, 48 per cent do have some form of protection in place.
The top five products include life insurance (51 per cent), health insurance (36 per cent), critical illness cover (25 per cent), income protection (21 per cent), and mortgage payment cover protection (20 per cent).
tom.dunstan@ft.com
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