Most Single Parents Are Uninsured

The global financial security firm Genworth Financial has recently conducted a study of household income and security, devoting particular attention to the issue of life insurance. The study found that across all income levels, single parents were by far more likely to have no life insurance – a situation that puts both them and their children at risk. For a single parent, life insurance is a particularly important way to protect one’s dependents, since, unlike two-parent households, in the case of the parent’s unexpected death the children may very well find themselves with no support at all.

Genworth found that 45% of married parents with children in the household lacked insurance, but a whopping 69% of single parents with children did. Overall, single parents with children in or outside their household lacked life insurance in 59% of the cases. Across all demographics, 49% of the United States adult population isn’t covered by any life insurance at all.

The disparity doesn’t only appear when examining marriage – there is also a significant gender gap present. Men, on the whole, are far less likely to insure themselves than women. For example, the study compared single parents with children in the household who aren’t home owners and earn less than $50,000 per year, and found that 79% of males in this category were uninsured, as opposed to 66% of the women.

One surprising result of the study was how little the percentages depended on income. When the Genworth researchers averaged coverage rates across all single male parents with incomes between $50,000 to $250,000, the number that had no life insurance was still the same 79%. Women fared somewhat better – in female single-parent households with an annual income greater than a quarter million dollars, a comparatively low 56% of the parents aren’t covered.

Counter-intuitively, the number of children in the household actually has a negative correlation with insurance coverage – the more children there are in a single-parent household, the less likelihood that the parent will have some form of protection. The reasons for these unpromising trends are complex and difficult to investigate, but inadequate and improper information is a likely culprit. Most people don’t spend much time thinking about life insurance, and when they do, they tend to perceive it as an expensive luxury. For many people, life insurance also appears as a one-time purchase; most aren’t aware that it’s possible to take structured approaches to insurance, and make it part of a plan for a secure financial future. Again, this is something that single parents, with their relatively precarious financial position, need to explore even more urgently than married couples.

If you are a single parent and are worried about being able to provide for your child or children in case of misfortune, we invite you to call Birkel and Associates and receive a completely free life insurance consultation at this number: 757-628-1825