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More than three-quarters of parents with a child aged 0-12 worry about their children’s mental health

07/03/2023
PROTECTION
  • LV= research highlights role of protection in improving financial resilience

Research* from protection, investment and retirement specialist LV= highlights how many working parents worry about their children’s mental health.

It is one for the findings of the latest LV= Reaching Resilience report. The research highlights the role protection has to play in improving financial resilience and reveals:

  • Parents with children aged 0-12 worry more about the impact on their family’s mental health if they died or were seriously ill (77%) than the financial impact it would have on them (74%) 
  • 10m  (77%) parents with a child aged 0-12 worry about their children’s mental health
  • 10m ( 76%) parents worry about their child being diagnosed with a serious illness 

The LV= report also highlights how many people are unprepared if sickness or injury stops them working. Parents are concerned about the impact of health problems as 77% said that it would affect their family’s happiness if they were unable to return to work. Dependants may be able to benefit from extra support if a parent has protection cover. Many policies include services such as counselling, which is available to children or young adults who are more likely to face mental health problems.

Mental health is an important reason why people are forced to take time off work:

  • In the past two years, 13% of those surveyed have had two months or more off work due to illness, injury or a mental health event 
  • 6% of UK workers have experienced a mental health event in the last two years that resulted in two months or more off work. For workers aged 18-24, this rose to 9%
  • Just one in ten people who couldn’t work for two months or more relied on the payout from a protection policy that they pay for themselves, compared to 46% who relied on their employer’s sick pay.  

“Our latest research found that young adults were most likely to have time off work for mental health reasons compared to the general public. Parents are understandably concerned about the wellbeing of their children as mental health pressures continue to rise. As emotional wellbeing is often linked to financial resilience, we encourage people affected to openly discuss their mental health struggles so that they can access the right support.

“It is important as protection providers to consider how to go beyond simply paying a claim. At LV= we support our customers from day one, providing emotional and practical support when they need it the most. 

“Our people and our partners help hundreds of members living with mental illness every year, offering early intervention, rehabilitation and back-to-work support. We are proud to offer mental health and medical support services for our members, including remote GP consultations and counselling via LV= Doctor Services for vulnerable customers who need extra support.”
Protection policies provide extra services to support customers.  

Mike FarrellProtection Sales and Marketing Director

Notes to Editors

LV= Income Protection (IP) policies include Rehab Support Services to aid health and wellbeing. This can help support recovery for any physical or mental health condition with a range of treatment options available. 

Parent and Child Cover is a benefit included in LV= IP policies and pays a lump sum worth six times the monthly cover, up to £25,000, if the policyholder's child is diagnosed with a specified condition.

As part of LV= Critical Illness cover, children’s cover is available up to age 23 to ensure that families can be better protected. There is also a junior conversion option so that young adults can use to take out their own policy in their own name (with further medical underwriting) when they become old enough. Parents with a CI policy can upgrade to enhanced children’s cover (for an additional cost) offering added cover for those who have children, or are planning to extend their family.

About LV= support services
LV= offers protection policyholders emotional and practical support that they can access every day without the need to make a claim under their policy.

LV= Doctor Services (included as standard on all new protection policies) provides convenient access to six expert medical services - 24/7 Remote GP, Prescription Services, Second Opinion, Remote Physiotherapy, Remote Psychological Support and Discounted Health MOTs - provided by Square Health.

The LV= Legal Advice Line provides free and confidential legal advice to LV= protection members on a range of personal legal matters such as those relating to employment, consumer contracts, property issues, motoring, landlord and tenant, family and wills and probate.

* LV= surveyed 4,000 nationally representative UK adults via an online omnibus conducted by Opinium between 16th August and 1st September 2022