The death of the family breadwinner could set a family back by over £190,000 over the course of 10 years, Beagle Street has found.

Research carried out by the insurer, which mapped out the financial losses that a family may incur following the death of a family member, focused on household spending and mortgage repayments as a starting point.

Beagle Street stated that UK families with low savings rates need to be better prepared for the unthinkable, especially as the UK median take-home pay is less than £28,000 per annum.

Research by the firm found that the impact of an early death is more profound, especially when factors such as childcare, standard of living and leisure possibilities are considered.

Moreover, inflation, the cost of living crisis and elevated interest rates are putting more financial pressure on households in the UK. Despite this, Beagle Street found that only 30-35% of UK adults have life insurance cover to protect loved ones in the event of their premature death.

Associate marketing and distribution director at Beagle Street, Beth Tait, said: "Our adverse life-event financial impact model is just a starting point for the most basic financial impact of a premature death, which in reality may be much higher, to cope with additional costs of running a family as a single, bereaved person."

Beagle Street also highlighted that even in a family where both partners are equal earners, the removal of one income often makes the continued cost of living for the survivor unaffordable on their earnings alone.

The firm stated that maintaining the previous standards of living is often extremely difficult, resulting in a family downsizing or moving to rented accommodation. This adds to the fact that many households have little to no savings, with 50% of people aged between 18 and 40 saying they have less than £2,500 saved in a recent survey.

Tait added: "Although it’s not the easiest topic to discuss, it’s so important to understand what the impact of losing a contributing partner might be, given the responsibility of bringing up children while also potentially paying for a mortgage. It’s crucial to plan ahead to ensure families are protected financially should the worst happen."

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