Getting Married or Having a Child? Here's the Protection You Should Be Thinking About
Written by Check Financial · 4 min read
The short answer
Major life events change what you need to protect, and who is depending on you. Here's a straightforward guide to what to consider.
When you get married or have a child, three things typically need reviewing: life insurance (so you and/or your family aren't left financially vulnerable), income protection (replacing your salary if illness stops you working), and critical illness cover (a lump sum on diagnosis of a serious illness). Most new families benefit from at least the first two.
Why Marriage and Children Change the Picture
Before marriage or children, protection often feels optional, most people manage without it. After, the financial dependencies shift. A partner may rely on your income; children certainly will for years. The cost of replacing the work an at-home parent does (childcare, household management) is real, even if it isn't a salary.
Protection at this stage isn't about predicting the worst, it's about making sure that if the worst happens, you and/or your family are not facing financial pressure on top of everything else.
Life Insurance, the Foundation
A life insurance policy pays a tax-free lump sum if you die during the policy term. For new families, the most common approaches are level term (cover stays the same for a set period, often until children are independent) or family income benefit (which pays a regular monthly income rather than a lump sum, often easier to budget around).
Two separate single-life policies usually offer better protection for couples than a single joint policy, see our mortgage protection guide for the detail on why.
Income Protection, the Most Overlooked
Statistically you are far more likely to be unable to work for an extended period than to die during working age. Income protection replaces a portion of your salary if illness or injury stops you working. For new families with a mortgage and dependants, it is often the most important policy of all.
See our full income protection guide.
Critical Illness Cover
A lump sum on diagnosis of a serious illness, used to clear the mortgage, fund treatment, or simply provide breathing room. Often arranged alongside life insurance and frequently includes optional children's cover.
Writing Policies in Trust
For married couples and parents, writing a life policy in trust means the payout goes directly to your chosen beneficiaries, usually without going through probate and outside your estate for inheritance tax purposes. We arrange this at no extra cost. See our trusts page.
Real client scenario
A couple in their early thirties contacted us shortly after their first child was born. Neither had any protection in place. We arranged level term life insurance for both partners running to their child's 21st birthday, family income benefit for the higher earner, and income protection for both. Total cost was lower than they expected because both were healthy non-smokers and we approached the right insurers for the family-protection package.
They told us afterwards that the conversation was the first time they'd actually thought through what would happen financially if either of them couldn't work or worse.
New Chapter. New Responsibilities. Let's Get This Right.
A no-pressure conversation to work out what cover actually makes sense for you and/or your family.
Talk to usFamily Protection FAQs
Do I need life insurance when I get married?+
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What about income protection on maternity leave?+
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Related Guides
Life Insurance for a Mortgage
What you actually need, level vs decreasing term, and whether to add critical illness.
Read guide →How Much Life Insurance Do I Need?
A practical framework for working out the right cover amount for your circumstances.
Read guide →Income Protection Explained
Read guide →This guide is general information, not personal advice. Check Financial Ltd is an appointed representative of Capital Protect Ltd, authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.