Young families: The cost vs. protection challenge

(BPT) – Being young and starting a family is one of the most exciting times in many people’s lives as there are lots of opportunities ahead and so many memories to make together. Unfortunately, young families are often the most vulnerable to life’s uncertainties. They’re the ones with many peak earning years ahead of them and lots of potential unknowns to encounter.

Ensuring proper protection is important when designing a financial strategy to meet the needs of young families. While each financial strategy will be different, there are a few things that every family should consider.

Insuring for the future

Life insurance and disability income insurance help form the foundation of a healthy financial strategy. A few companies are working to develop new offerings to allow new generations to access and leverage solutions tailored to their lifestyles, incomes and families. Thrivent Financial recently launched a new Universal Life Insurance product that combines the affordability of term insurance with the premium flexibility and potential cash value growth of permanent insurance.

This gives young parents the option to purchase a lifetime of coverage at a beginning price point that is generally very competitive with that of term insurance options many young people might purchase. This permanent coverage has the potential to build cash value accumulation that can be used for other things, like an emergency savings fund.

Disability income insurance is another cornerstone to consider, so families are protecting their paychecks and future goals. New innovations offer options including ‘stay-at-home-spouse’ benefits, allowing couples who have one person working inside the home to be protected also. This type of coverage can protect the invaluable contributions of stay-at-home spouses, and may help with all they do for a family, should they be unable to work in the home.

Innovation and financial services aren’t often in the same sentence together. However, with the unique challenges and opportunities faced by young families, new options are appearing that are tailored to the needs of a new generation.