Fathers ''are ignoring life insurance''

Many fathers in the UK do not have the life insurance cover in place to ensure their children would be comfortable if anything should happen to them, a new study has shown.

Research from Friends Provident found that fathers in the UK were more likely to spend money on the latest technology than on financial products like life insurance.

In fact, the research discovered that one in three UK dads believed they had not got enough life insurance cover in place to provide for their children if anything happened.

Nearly half (45 per cent) of those questioned acknowledged they were underinsured or needed to review their cover.

Worryingly, one in five fathers said they have no life insurance at all.

"Many [fathers] are focusing on the here-and-now, rather than thinking about tomorrow," explained Peter Timberlake, head of public relations at Friends Provident.

"As men continue to have children later in life, they need to ensure that they have the finances in place in order to stay cool for longer and to maintain the standard of living for them and their children regardless of what the future holds."

Recently, Legal & General said that the ongoing credit crunch should convince more parents to consider life and critical illness insurance.

"Most families'' finances would unravel if a parent died or became too ill to work. They are risking their futures by not protecting their key asset – their future income," Bonnie Burns, the lender''s director of protection, explained.