The sayings ‘free as a bird’, or ‘not a care in the world’ normally refer to youngsters who rarely give too much thought to their finances let alone life planning. They float about in this world where untoward things happen to everybody else and do not plan for the worst. Yet, according to the latest research by Life Search, youths can be at an increased risk from all kinds of situations that are insurable such as sickness, unemployment and, in the most unfortunate circumstances, death. However, the research revealed that, as one may suspect, this segment of the population have some of the lowest levels of insurance cover.

Over the last 12 months, they record that only 3.5% of all protection policies sold by them went to individuals under the age of 25. However, what many youngsters do not think about is that they face a double-edged sword. The likely blame for these low levels of cover is inadequate funding to pay for these services, yet the cost of being unprotected will be significantly higher if the eventuality were to occur.

There are other significant advantages of protecting yourself while you are in your early years. Typically, life insurance, critical illness cover and income protection are cheaper if bought at an earlier age. This is due to the fact that a younger person is more likely to be healthier than elder individuals. For instance, Lifesearch suggests that a life insurance premium over 30 years would be about £1,500 more expensive if bought at 35 rather than 25 years old. This is based on a non-smoking male and a level of cover of £100,000).

Despite the risks and the rationale for insurance cover it remains to be seen whether youngsters will be able to see beyond the clear blue skies that may cloud their judgment. After all it’s never to soon to think about the future.