Testimonial

Over the last several years, many experts in the life insurance industry have lamented the fact that, for the most part, millennials have stayed out of buying this kind of coverage for various reasons. Whether it was the perceived lack of necessity or the fact that many think that such coverage is unaffordable, this has long been a major issue. But now, it might also be one that's becoming less troublesome.

While many consumers continue to see significant risk in investments of all types, including life insurance, that concern is starting to decline nationwide among most age groups, according to a new survey from Hearts and Wallets. However, that may be particularly true of millennials, and those in Generation X, specifically. For instance, among the youngest group of adults surveyed – those between the ages of 21 and 27 years old, comfort with perceived volatility in investments came in at 25 percent, up from just 19 percent a year earlier. Likewise, that among adults aged 28 to 39 years old improved to 31 percent from 23 percent. Finally, 34 percent of those 40 to 52 years old were comfortable with the idea, up from just 24 percent a year earlier.

Chris Brown, partner and co-founder of Hearts and Wallets, notes that these changes show just how much younger adults are now seeing the value in this kind of investment, because they're effectively costing themselves money by not getting into it, the report said. He further added that when it comes to this kind of financial move, these young people who have stayed out of the market for the last several years at least have the ability to make up some significant ground in the coming decades.

A closer look at the numbers
Moreover, 53 percent of people in their late 20s and 30s say that they're worried about losing out on that investment growth, up 16 points from the 37 percent who felt the same way as recently as 2012, the report said. The most significant goal cited by consumers of all ages, though, was the ability to successfully build an emergency fund in case they end up needing some extra flexibility down the road.

Life insurance companies may want to do more to highlight the value of their products as investment vehicles, beyond what many may perceive as being something that merely provides a death benefit. The more issuers can do to reach young consumers in particular, the better off they might be.