£23,000 a year - that's the value of a Dad

Legal & General's ‘Value of a Dad' survey has found that the value of the work that Dads do around the home is £23,296.

That's close to double the figure of £12,738, which was the value of a Dad in 2005, when Legal & General last undertook the survey. The research seeks to highlight the cost of replacing the domestic work that Dads do.

Key findings from the 2009 report are:

Men spend 53 hours a week on household chores and childcare, compared to just 34 hours back in 2005

21.5 of those 53 hours are spent on childcare, 9.5 on housekeeping, 7.5 on cleaning and 6 on cooking

Dads get just seven hours a week to themselves and three hours a week to spend with their partner

46% of Dads say that they would prefer not to work and be at home looking after the children

Just 63% of Dads have life insurance, 33% have critical illness cover and 27% have income protection. 23% have family income benefit

Alan Ferguson, Protection Marketing and Channel Development Director said: "Mums often get the headlines when it comes to domestic work, but actually Dads contribute a huge amount too. These days, the jobs involved in running a house are far more evenly distributed. It's not nice to think about, but families need to ask themselves how they would cope with all the domestic work and childcare that Dad does if he suffered a critical illness or died. People shouldn't assume that extended family or the State will fill the gap."

"Protection insurance can help provide peace of mind that a family could maintain its living standards if Dad was critically ill or passed away. Given the economic backdrop, now could be a good time to consider how to protect your family against financial hardship."

With the penetration of protection so low (just 63% of Dads questioned have life insurance), this could leave some families exposed and at risk of suffering financial hardship in the event of a Father's death or critical illness. Legal & General asked married parents and those living as married how they thought their partner would manage in the event of their death. The most popular response (35%) was to rely on grandparents to look after the children and 30% said that they would work part-time. This would have a significant impact on the overall household earnings and therefore standard of living. Interestingly, only 29% of parents have made a will.

54% of working parents said that they would make cutbacks and reduce spending if they were unable to work because of illness or injury. 38% said that they would rely on their partner's wage and 37% said that they would get sick-pay from their employer for a certain time.