Financial Literacy Fund Must Prioritise Insurance Education

7 November 2014

Government Youth Financial Literacy Fund Must Prioritise Insurance Education

The Insurance Council welcomes the Government’s half a million dollar Youth Financial Literacy Fund but warns programmes must promote understanding of financial risk.

Youth Minister Nikki Kaye today announced the opening of a Financial Literacy Fund to support organisations to deliver financial literacy skills to young people.

“The fund is welcomed but in the past financial literacy programmes have focused on savings and little attention paid to risk,” says Insurance Council Chief Executive Tim Grafton.

“Saving up for a laptop or car which is then damaged or stolen is a double whammy if you’re uninsured because you’ve not only lost your savings but also the asset you’ve worked so hard to buy,” he says.

“Some families teach their kids to ‘save some, spend some, share some’ but we need to add ‘safeguard’ to that financial education mantra.”

“It’s important that education about how financial risks can be managed or transferred to another party through insurance is engrained in all financial literacy programmes, particularly as disadvantaged groups are more likely to be uninsured,” says Mr Grafton.

ENDS

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