Two Out Of Three Britons Don’t Have Life Insurance

From a recent study, about two-thirds of British people have no life insurance, in spite 50% of this figure being parents. It is clear that life cover is not A high priority in the UK.

Forgotten cover

Since nobody likes to think about their own demise, purchasing life insurance is forgotten unsurprisingly. This is also an answer as to why more obvious types of cover are taken out such as, home and car insurance which are more conventional kinds of cover taken by UK residents.

50% of those surveyed stated that they never considered life insurance cover or they had researched and found it was not affordable. This highlights a clear apathy amongst Brits and could bare them to financial troubles if they were to pass away. It can be easy to believe it will never happen to you, but unfortunately it is always best to be prepared.

Who’s covered?

Men have outnumbered women, from those who have bought life cover. In addition it seems younger people are wiser to the odds of fate, with most covered, falling between the age of 21 to 30.

Purchase of life insurance cover was differentiated regionally. Scotland had the fewest number of people with life cover whilst the North West had the most, suggesting where you live affects your priorities.

The uses of life insurance

Life insurance cover can bring to mind the idea of handing money over to insurance companies, never to be seen again. However, you are protecting yourself and your family with this policy should the unthinkable occur. Life insurance can help ensure debts are repaid, that your funeral costs will be taken care of, and that your family can continue to maintain their living standards.

If your income and outgoing finances are tight, life insurance cover may appear to be to be a luxury item, but that doesn’t have to be the case. There are other policies which offer cover for a certain duration, which generally are a less dear choice. Having whole life cover is the most complete for of life insurance – regardless of when you die you will be paid – that makes it the most costly.

A policy which will cover you over a set time that is pre-specified by yourself is a level term policy and will cover your family financially. This can be beneficial if you have undertaken a mortgage, since cover can be bought which insures you while the mortgage is being repaid. Insurance taken out as level term could be decreasing or increasing, with the first being the cheaper option.

A decreasing term policy is beneficial if you only require your family to be protected from debts such as mortgage – the sum of cover will reduce according to the amount to be repaid for the mortgage. The reverse is true of an increasing term policy, where the amount you owe increasing across the length of the cover. A flexible policy, which is made to guard yourself and your family against changes in life circumstances such as a new baby.

Regardless of the cover you choose, to keep to a minimum, look around to see what your best options are. If you like, have a look at our life insurance comparison tool to begin with? If you need more information on your options, then read our insurance guides to find the details essential to you.

Kevin Patterson