3 Ways Finances Change After Having a Baby
Written by The Clearcover Team | 4 minute read
Car insurance is ultimately about protecting the people we love— and the financial assets we’ve built to support them. So it makes sense that, as our families and living arrangements change, our financial priorities will change too. And, because Clearcover is a car insurance company that’s customer-driven, we wanted to know how the rise of technology and automotive trends intersect with modern family dynamics and financial decisions.
So we did what we normally do: we asked. In fact, we conducted a survey of hundreds of drivers to see how living within a family affects our driving and financial lives.
We learned a lot from that survey. And since we want to share what we’ve learned with you, we’re presenting Family Mile Markers—a new series that explores how our family relationships affect our driving, financial, and car insurance decisions. Watch here over the coming weeks as we look at the various intersections of driving and family life—including a few timely findings.
First up, let’s talk about one of the biggest moments in a family’s life—having a baby. We asked our survey respondents how their thoughts about car insurance and financial services changed after they had their first child. Here’s what they told us.
1. New parents change their financial services lineup— and quickly
Nothing rearranges priorities faster than having a baby, and our survey data certainly suggested that new parents are primed to make major financial changes. Nearly half of our respondents (46%) reported buying at least one financial services product within 6 months of having a child, and 20% opened a college savings account.
New parents strongly considered other money milestones too: 23% of our respondents bought a new home, and 46% bought a new car—two of the biggest financial moves out there.
Most interesting to us, though, was the rush: 82% of our survey-takers said that they feel a strong sense of urgency to have financial products in place before the baby arrived.
2. New parents pay closer attention to what their car insurance policy covers
While we love insurance, we get that not everyone is as excited about policy details as we are. (That’s why we try to simplify the process as much as possible.)
But, according to our survey, new parents’ interest in their policy becomes heightened. 75% of our survey respondents agreed that they were more concerned about what their car insurance covered (or did not cover!) after they had a child. And 72% stated that after their baby was born they were more likely to read the fine print on their policy.
3. Parents are willing to pay more money to get better car coverage
Once US families have a baby to protect, they’re not so concerned about what it costs to get the best insurance coverage—at least, that’s what our ,,.survey showed. 70% of survey-takers stated that, after they had a child, they were willing to pay more money for better car insurance coverage.
Which coverages were they most concerned about? 74% stated that roadside assistance was more important now that they have kids, while 54% were much more interested in bodily injury/liability coverage. And 40% agreed that ensuring the availability of reliable transportation (as well as alternate transportation, such as a rental car, in case of an accident) was now more important than before.
Most importantly, our respondents were serious about taking action. 71% either switched or considered switching car insurance providers to get a policy that better protects their family and their vehicle.
Insurance is about protection for peace of mind.
While some of these findings weren’t surprising, it was valuable to hear directly from drivers on what matters to them. It reinforced our current beliefs about how we can make insurance better. Ultimately, at Clearcover, we want to help drivers cover the things that are most important—at the affordable prices they deserve.
Take a few minutes and get a quote to see how much you could save.
