Over two-fifths of parents have no financial protection

Much as I despise the state of the healthcare system in the USA, it is not true that someone would be allowed to die if they did not have medical insurance. If a hospital found someone stupid enough to pay a bill on behalf of an uninsured person, sure they would grab the chance to grab an extortionate payment - but for fear of being sued for millions, the hospital would treat the injured person first. I have an American wife (we're separated) and an office in the USA, where three out of our seven employees do not in fact have health insurance. One of the uninsured recently severed a vein (not at work) and had very expensive surgery on the US government. If you think our politicians are scum, you should meet some of the US Senators, particularly the Republican ones. The word 'evil' does not even go half way to describing them.

We are lucky we live in a country with a social agenda. In other countries, it would be a different story. While watching a 'Dangerous Animals' program the other day, it showed a young lady bitten by a viper in the US. She didn't have medical insurance and her British boyfriend had to pick up the $100,000 bill for her treatment. If he hadn't been there, who knows what the outcome might have been. Many complain about our benefits culture, but it this very culture that allows us not to have to worry about our futures as much as those who are in the US for example. While having life insurances will benefit our dependants should the worse happen, it is good to know that if we don't have insurances, our dependants can still rely on the state to keep them safe, unlike another country of our acquaintance, where the poor are cast out and left to rot. As for whether insurance is vital, I would argue not. If you have limited resources, the priorities must go to warmth, shelter and nourishment. No one appreciates a corpse that has no home, no warmth and which has died from malnutrition, yet has a full life policy. If you are literally living to your means, little things such as spending on life insurance must surely go out the door. Besides, things like full life cover are the preserve of the wealthy and well off. I wonder how many people living on James Turner Street (Benefits Street) have any sort of insurance, or for that matter anywhere within the UK which is considered a poverty belt. On a final note, it is all well and good having insurance, but like all companies out to make a profit, they are more than happy collecting premiums but try their hardest to discourage claims. A number of high profile cases over the last decade or so have demonstrated how far companies will go to limit payouts, such as fighting and appealing until the claimant has passed on, or picking on stupid and insignificant points of law that have no bearing on the case in question to reduce or stop payout altogether. (An insurer refused to pay out on a claim I had made, basing their rejection on the fact that I should have made a claim a few years previous, even though I was unaware that there was an issue requiring a claim. One phone call from my solicitor to the insurer saw them pay out, when he informed them that their reason for rejection was insignificant, and would not hold up in a court of law. Remember that insurance staff are fully briefed on how to convince us that we don't have a case, and they are fully trained on how to bully the general public.)

In response to nickpike - "There is a cost of doing something about this problem, and there is a cost of doing nothing. But the cost of doing nothing is sometimes much, much higher than the cost of doing something" The cost of doing something might be £10 per month. Maybe £20 per month. It varies, but not by much. The cost of doing nothing could run into the tens of thousands, possibly over £100,000. Also, widows are sometimes pressured into re-marrying sooner than they otherwise might due to financial worries. Of course, if you're a parent and you choose not to have life cover, that's your choice. Chances are, nothing bad will happen as a consequence. But it might.