Let’s start with something uncomfortable.
If you died tomorrow, would your family be okay financially? Not emotionally — that’s a different conversation. But financially.
Would the mortgage get paid?
Would the bills keep getting covered?
Would your partner be able to keep working, or would they suddenly be doing everything alone on one income while also grieving?
According to research by Swiss Re, there is a life insurance protection gap of around £2.4 trillion in the UK. That’s the difference between what families would need and what they actually have in place. It’s a staggering number, and behind it are real families who are one bad day away from serious financial hardship.
The problem isn't just not having cover — it's not having enough
Many parents do have some life insurance. Often it’s a basic policy picked up when they got a mortgage, or the default death in service benefit from their employer. And they tick the box mentally: sorted.
But here’s the thing.
A mortgage protection policy covers the mortgage — and nothing else. And employer death in service cover, typically three to four times your salary, sounds like a lot until you map it against 20 years of childcare, school costs, lost income, and everything else a family actually needs.
It runs out. Faster than you’d think.
What does your family actually need?
A good starting point is multiplying your annual income by ten. That’s a rough figure for the cover needed to replace your financial contribution over the long term. Add your outstanding mortgage on top, and you’re getting closer to the real number.
For most families, that figure is somewhere between £300,000 and £700,000. Many people have a fraction of that in place.
The good news?
Life insurance in the UK is genuinely affordable. A healthy non-smoker in their 30s can often get £400,000 of cover for less than the price of a takeaway per week. The cost of not having it, on the other hand, is incalculable.
"Most families have less life cover than they think. This article explains why — and what to do about it."
The other thing most people get wrong
Even parents who do have adequate cover often make one critical mistake: they don’t put it in a trust.
A life insurance policy not written in trust goes into your estate when you die. That means probate. Probate in the UK currently takes an average of nine to twelve months. During that time, your family cannot access the money. They’re waiting, grieving, and juggling bills — while the payout sits frozen in a legal process.
Writing your policy in trust takes about twenty minutes. It’s free. And it means the money goes directly to your family, usually within weeks. It’s one of the most important things you can do, and most people have never heard of it.
The real cost of waiting
Life insurance premiums are based on your age and health at the time you apply. Every year you wait, the premium goes up slightly. But more importantly, if your health changes — and these things happen — you might find yourself paying a higher premium, facing exclusions, or being declined altogether.
The best time to sort your life insurance was last year. The second best time is today.
