Approximately one in four Americans between the ages of 18
and 29 lacks health insurance (24%), according to a new insuranceQuotes.com
report. Despite the Affordable Care Act's mandate that all Americans have
health insurance, the report found 16% of all adults do not have health
insurance. Millennials are 10 percentage points more likely to lack health
insurance than people 30 and older.
The report observed that 18-29 year-olds are less
likely than all other age groups to have health, auto, life, homeowner's,
renter's and disability insurance. While some of this can be attributed to
living with their parents or having fewer assets to protect, there is ample
evidence that millennials are unprepared for potential financial risks.
For example, only 12% of millennials have renter's
insurance. This coverage can be very inexpensive. It provides liability
coverage and replaces personal belongings if they are damaged or stolen.
Sixty-four percent of 18-29 year-olds lack life insurance.
The most common explanation was that it costs too much, but $500,000 of
20-year level term life insurance can cost less than $20 per month
for a young adult. The second-most common response was, "I'm healthy and
don't need life insurance," which matches up with the popular 'young
invincibles' explanation for lacking health insurance.
Even car insurance – mandatory in all states except for New
Hampshire – is not particularly popular among millennials. Thirty-six
percent of 18-29 year-olds do not have auto insurance. This might be because
the number of young adult drivers has fallen in recent years, as other reports
have found.
Despite all of this evidence that millennials do not have a
lot of insurance, most millennials are confident they are prepared for the
financial consequences of car accidents, having their belongings stolen,
incurring substantial medical bills or becoming disabled. Sixty percent of
18-29 year-olds are either very or somewhat confident that they are prepared
for those risks; older adults are equally confident in their own preparations.
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