37% of parents worried about their financial security if they were to experience major health issues or injury

LV=’s Reaching Resilience report, surveyed 4,000 people, found 37% of adults are worried about their own and their families’ financial security if they were to experience a major health problem or injury.

Mike Farrell, protection sales and marketing director at LV=, said: “Our latest Reaching Resilience research found that many parents are feeling unprepared if they had to take time off work for health reasons.

“It is no surprise that parents are concerned about the wellbeing and happiness of their loved ones, yet some people will be unprepared for financial difficulty if they do not have the right financial safety net in place .Conditions such as cancer, heart attack or a stroke can have a devastating financial and emotional impact on families.

 29% of parents with young children say they don't feel confident in their ability to financially cope if they were diagnosed with a critical illness, while a third of workers said their family’s financial security would be “largely impacted” if they were injured or had a major health problem.

One in five families said they would last less than one month without their income, and 15% would rely on loans or credit cards if  they were unable to work for two months or more due to illness or injury.

The report said that the average working adult supports three people with their income, including themselves, with 10% saying that they have five or more people reliant on their income.

This comes as the Work and Pensions Committee said statutory sick pay (SSP) should be extended so all employees are eligible, not just those earning above the lower earnings limit which is £123 per week since April 2022.

It’s also been found that sick leave lasting four or more weeks are having a serious impact on the nation’s personal finances. This type of sick leave makes up for 20% of total sickness workplace leave in the UK.