More than half of all UK parents have no form of financial protection in place if absence from work is required to care of their children.
This is according to findings from a survey of more than 3,000 parents across the country from protection and employee benefits provider MetLife UK.
The research also found among this group, 56% were self-employed and 39% were on zero-hour contracts. One in five (20%) were unaware that financial policies to help working parents even exist.
And over half (52%) were found to 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 or had an accident.
Among those without protection, well over half (56%) were self-employed, almost two in three (65%) work part-time and nearly two in five (39%) were employed on zero-hour contracts.
The research found that the main barriers to having any financial protection in place included affordability concerns (44%), a lack of awareness of these type of products (20%), and general disinterest in taking out insurance policies (9%).
However, almost half (48%) did have some form of protection in place. The top five products include life insurance (51%), health insurance (36%), critical illness cover (25%), income protection (21%) and mortgage payment cover protection (20%).
Rich Horner, head of individual protection at MetLife UK (pictured), 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 or away from their business to care for a child.
“And for many, particularly those who must take the time off unpaid, self-employed workers, or those on zero-hour contracts, this could have a severe financial impact.
“At MetLife, we’re keen to raise the awareness and accessibility of these contemporary products to ensure parents are taking the correct cover to support their needs.
“We’re extremely excited this innovative product is available to all advisers to help grow their businesses and protect their customers.
“In 2023 we paid over 6,200 claims for children on our existing products, so the need is clear.
“ChildShield remains the only stand-alone child protection product and is designed with both financial advisers and customers in mind, it complements the traditional advice process, filling a gaping protection hole due to its affordability and it being a non-underwritten product – one that’s truly suited to all families.”