It appears members of the millennial generation are purchasing less life insurance than they were prior to the financial crisis.
According to a survey conducted by Life Ang, only 21% of millennials own life insurance. Although there was a positive correlation between age and liklihood of owning life insurance, only 28% of the largest group (those 31 to 35) was covered. Comparatively, just over 10%of the 23 to 25 age group owned life insurance coverage. Generally as a rule, nearly all people between the ages of 22 and 65 should have some sort of coverage on their lives.
“The consequences to millennials who do not purchase life insurance at a young age include an increased risk that they will not be insurable when they attempt to buy it for the first time later in life. They will also almost certainly pay a higher price for their insurance coverage if they wait to buy, because generally speaking, the later in life someone purchases life insurance the more expensive the coverage will be,” stated Thomas Rockford, Life Ant CEO.
Life insurers should explain to millennials that purchasing life insurance sooner rather than later will reduce risk to their families and avoid the catastrophe of them being left financially unprotected in the future.
Generation Opportunity, a millennial think-tank, published a study detailing 15 percent of the generation faces unemployment, which significantly hinders their ability to purchase life insurance coverage.
A Washington Post article based on a study from The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, the National Marriage Project at the University of Virginia and the RELATE Institute found the average age for marriage is now above 26. The average age for adults having their first child is over 25, indicating a significant rise in both statistics over time and pointing to alternative reasons for lack of coverage.
The survey polled 240 self-identified members of the millennial generation with college degrees between the ages of 23 and 35. 172 respondents were male, while 68 were female. In the entire sample, only 21 percent of people aged 23 to 35 owned life insurance.
