By YOUNG MONEY Staff
29 October 2010

Some younger members of Generation Y are just entering the workforce, but many Millennials - as the generation is also known - are already worried about the possibility that they'll experience sudden income loss or be unable to provide for their family.

Insurer MetLife polled 1,305 people late last year and found that a majority of Millennials are concerned about paying bills in the event that they're out of work for several consecutive weeks. Seventy percent of Generation Y survey respondents said that was a worry.

In addition, 42 percent of respondents had children; they could benefit from having a robust life insurance policy in the event of a severe accident. MetLife recommends that the average life insurance policy cover all outstanding debt plus five years of income.

It might be useful to take MetLife's findings with a grain of salt - the company does sell insurance products, after all. Still, its survey illustrates that even young adults can benefit from having the right insurance policies in place. Buying insurance through an employer can be an especially wise move, MetLife says.

"Benefits offered through the employer are often the foundation of a personal safety net," company vice president Ronald Leopold notes.