Parents are more likely to be worried about money and the risk of being unable to work through serious illness or injury than those without dependents, but the vast majority have failed to arrange any sort of protection cover.
And the majority of parents are also concerned about affording the cover they do have in place as the cost of living crisis bites.
Research from Vitality surveying 2,000 adults showed three quarters of those with children claimed they were worried about money and more than a third did not feel financially resilient.
This compared with more than two thirds (67%) of those without children who said they were worried about money.
But the survey also showed the situation was even more severe for single parents, with nearly half (46%) admitting they did not feel financially resilient.
The research found that two thirds (66%) of those with children under 18 were concerned about a loss of income due to personal illness.
However, only one in seven (15%) of these had income protection (IP) or some form of critical illness (CI) cover in place, which would pay out in the event they were diagnosed with a serious illness.
When asked why they did not have these policies in place, a third (34%) of those without IP and nearly half (45%) of those without CI cover said it was too expensive.
Additionally, the majority (57%) of those with children under the age of 18 said they were worried about affording their current insurance policies.
Andy Philo, strategic partnerships director at Vitality, (pictured) said: “Our research has shown we are at a critical point where families are feeling the pinch of the current economic crisis and are concerned that they would be unprotected should they fall ill and be unable to work.
“With the majority of people saying they don’t have protection in place to protect them and their families in such an eventuality, this is a significant concern.
“It’s more important than ever that they are shown the value of protection policies and the security it provides.
“There is a role for the industry to advocate the importance of taking out protection and the value it can provide – both at the point of claim and throughout the life of the policy.”