Media centre

Irish children could benefit from improved family financial planning

364,428* children in Ireland could benefit from improved family financial planning as Aviva gives new parents a boost with free life cover

• Four in 10 parents in Ireland risk leaving children and dependents with no financial safety net
• Birth of a child triggers 53% of parents to consider financial planning
• One in four parents admit to being totally unprepared on all levels on birth of their first child!

8th Feb 2010

Parents in Ireland are adopting a ‘head in the sand’ approach to family financial planning.  42% of parents have no life assurance over and above protecting their mortgage and therefore risk leaving their children with little or no financial protection in the event of their or their partner’s death according to new research findings from Aviva.

Published today, the Aviva Parents & Protection Study shows that 8 in 10 Irish adults do not worry about the level of life assurance protection they hold yet 54% acknowledge that they would be unable to maintain their current lifestyle in the event of a partner’s death.  Worryingly, the research also shows that  ‘managing finances’ and ‘making sure your family is looked after’ came joint second last in the list of priorities for parents, marginally ahead of providing for a child’s education.

Publication of the study, which was conducted using a representative sample of 1,000 adults, coincides with the launch by Aviva of its New Parent Free Life Cover.  The Aviva Parents & Protection Study reveals that 59% of all adults and 42% of parents surveyed do not have life assurance cover.  The study also reveals that a quarter of parents admit that they worry about the level of life cover they have.

With over one third of parents admitting to being an ‘emotional wreck’ on the birth of their first child, the research also reveals that having a baby is a trigger for 53% of parents to improve their financial planning.  And to help parents take their important first step in financial planning Aviva is giving €10,000 of free life cover to all new parents whether they are a customer of Aviva or not.  The Aviva ‘New Parent Free Life Cover’ is currently available to all new parents in Ireland up until the child’s first birthday. Aviva branches and independent brokers nationwide are providing financial planning advice for parents on a daily basis and are now supported by the findings of the Aviva study.

The Aviva study reveals some alarming findings in relation to financial planning amongst parents:

4 in 10 of all parents and 1 in 2 parents between 25 and 34 years old felt that they were not adequately financially prepared on the birth of their first child.

On the birth of a first child, women were more concerned about financial matters than men. 48% of women compared to 31% of men felt they were not financially prepared.

A quarter of all new parents felt completely unprepared on all levels for the birth of the first child. More mothers (30%) felt unprepared than fathers (22%).

A whopping 82% of all adults surveyed and 68% of parents do not have a will.

Bernard Lynch of Aviva’s Life & Pensions division, says: “Having a child is a key event in anyone’s life and arranging life assurance is not always top of the to-do list.  However financial planning is an essential part of parenting and over 364,000 children could benefit from improved financial planning by parents.  That’s why Aviva is launching the New Parent Fee Life Cover.

“It’s a very simple approach and it’s available to all new parents - they don’t have to purchase anything and they don’t have to give us any financial details.  New parents simply register with us before their baby is six months old and they will receive free life assurance cover worth €10,000, to run up to and include and including the child’s first birthday.  We hope that by introducing this initiative we will heighten awareness amongst parents of the need for making adequate financial plans for the future in case the worst should happen.”

Bernard Lynch added, “Aviva is delighted to be able to remove one concern new parents have by offering the reassurance of free life cover.  Although the cover we are providing in this initiative is a small portion of the cover a family needs, it’s a very clear demonstration of how Aviva recognises everyone’s unique needs and looks out for them by giving a little peace of mind to new parents at this life-changing moment.”

New parents can register for this offer now either online by visiting www.aviva.ie, by visiting their local branch or talking to their financial adviser

*923,329 family units in Ireland, of which 619,776 (67%) have children.  The average number number of children per family is 1.4 or 867,685 children - Source CSO 2006 Census. 42% of parents surveyed do not have life assurance or 260,305 family units or 364,428 children.

For further information please contact:

Alan Tyrrell, Aviva Group Ireland plc

• Tel: 01-898 5452 / 086-8508673

Kate Candon, Fleishman Hillard

• Tel. 01 6188472 / 086 8654904

Notes to Editors

Aviva commissioned research with Empathy Research amongst a nationally representative sample of 1,000 adults aged 18-44 years in the Republic of Ireland.  There were 399 parents in the sample and fieldwork was conducted online from 18-22 January 2010.

About Aviva

Aviva, the international savings, investments and insurance group, is the world’s fifth largest insurance group, serving 50 million customers across Europe, North America and Asia Pacific.

In Ireland, Aviva is the largest insurance group with 1.2million customers in general insurance, life & pensions and health insurance. The company was originally founded in 1908 as Hibernian Fire & General Insurance. It is headquartered in Dublin, has offices in Cork and Galway and a nationwide distribution network.

Return to the previous page