Millennials Want to Own Homes and Have Families, but May Not Have a Plan to Protect Them

Insurance Weekly News

By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Weekly News -- Though the majority of millennials plan to marry, have a family and buy a home, an Anthem survey reveals that they may not have a long-term plan to ensure their future financial wellness. This survey, showed that of millennials surveyed, only 39 percent believed it was important for an employer to offer life insurance.

This statistic is particularly startling when research has shown that though many millennials are delaying marriage and family, the majority of this generation does eventually want to get married-70 percent-and have a family-74 percent1. An even higher percentage-93 percent-plans to own a home at some point2. It's important to note that this generation also has the highest level of student debt of any generation3. However, it seems that millennials are missing an opportunity to protect their future families from the burden of these debts, should anything happen to them.

"Millennials may be underestimating the security that life insurance offers them," says Nick Brecker, president of Specialty Business at Anthem. "This benefit is a key way to protect the homes and families of their future. In the best case, life insurance offers absolute peace of mind for a family. In the event of tragedy, it ensures that no more debt is heaped on loved ones."

It's no secret that millennials wield great power to influence both workforce and consumer purchasing trends. In early 2016, they surpassed baby boomers as the largest generation and now total roughly 92 million Americans4. By 2030 they are expected to comprise 75 percent of the workforce. The same Anthem survey revealed that those ages 18 - 34 (53 percent) are significantly less likely than those ages 55+ (69 percent) to agree that they understand the coverage/benefits provided by their life insurance plan. It's possible that millennials don't consider life insurance to be as important a benefit, because they don't fully understand it. It would behoove both employers and insurance brokers to educate their millennial workforces on the benefits of life insurance and its role in a comprehensive integrated health care package.

"Millennials have great hopes for the future, and it's imperative that they consider tools like life insurance to protect that future," says Tracie Foster, director, product and business development at Anthem. "Employers and insurance brokers can play a major role in helping their employees understand that for less than a cup of coffee a day, millennials can protect the homes and families they've planned."

With low incomes and high amounts of debt, it's easy to see why millennials might dismiss the cost of life insurance-after all, they are healthy and young-and planning for a family that doesn't even exist yet. It is, however, for all those reasons that they should utilize life insurance as a long-term financial planning tool, not just for them, but for the families of their futures.

This report presents the findings of an online omnibus survey using the field services of YouGov, from March 15 - 16, 2017. Data was collected among 905 U.S. adults, ages 18+ across the country. All survey respondents work at a company with at least two employees. Statistical significance testing for this survey was done at a 95 percent confidence level and margin of error was +/- 3 percent. This means that if we were to replicate the study, we would expect to get the same results within 3 percentage points 95 times out of 100. About Anthem, Inc. Anthem is working to transform health care with trusted and caring solutions. Our health plan companies deliver quality products and services that give their members access to the care they need. With over 74 million people served by its affiliated companies, including more than 40 million within its family of health plans, Anthem is one of the nation's leading health benefits companies. For more information about Anthem's family of companies, please visit www.antheminc.com/companies. 1 http://www.goldmansachs.com/our-thinking/pages/millennials/index.html2 http://info.trulia.com/trulia-american-dream-survey-winter-20123 https://www.federalreserve.gov/econresdata/2016-economic-well-being-of-us-households-in-2015-education-debt-student-loans.htm4 http://www.goldmansachs.com/our-thinking/pages/millennials/index.html View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170905005932/en/

Keywords for this news article include: Anthem Inc., Insurance Companies, Investment and Finance.