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 New LIMRA research revealed that 6 in 10 new parents and 7 in 10 newly married or divorced couples do not shop or buy life insurance within two years of having a baby or getting married or divorced.

Conventional wisdom was that life events - getting married, divorced or having a baby – were primary triggers for consumers to shop for life insurance. Findings from LIMRA’s 2011 study, To Shop and Not to Shop, supported this, with one in four consumers who shopped for life insurance were recently married or new parents.

However, looking more broadly at the 4 million Americans who married and the 7 to 8 million births that occurred over the past two years, these life events are not prompting the majority of these consumers to seek the life insurance coverage they might need to protect their families.

LIMRA found that newlyweds, new parents and divorcees had higher levels of financial concerns regarding money accumulation, protection needs, debt and bills than consumers overall. While more than one-third of new parents and 45 percent of newlyweds and recently divorced consumers acknowledged they did not have enough life insurance, nearly two-thirds of new parents, newlyweds and recent divorcees said life insurance wasn’t their top financial priority.

Often, newlyweds, new parents and divorcees have many different financial needs competing for limited dollars. The problem is that not having protection in the case of disability, death or sickness could leave their families at substantial financial risk.

LIMRA recommends that financial professionals reach out to new parents and those who have changed their marital status to help them view their financial goals holistically. These discussions may help these consumer understand how life insurance can ensure their goals to pay off debt, provide educational opportunities for their children and keep retirement savings intact in the event of a premature death.