Attitudes to life insurance in the UK
Life insurance can undoubtedly be a very important type of financial protection, but how many people in the UK have it and, as a nation, what do we know about these policies? Keep reading to find out, and to test your knowledge in our life insurance quiz. We also answer some of your top life insurance questions.
More than half of adults insured
We polled 2,000 adults across the UK to get the lowdown on the country’s relationship with life insurance. More than half of the people we surveyed (53%) said they have a life insurance policy in place. Men were slightly more likely than women to have this financial cover, with 56% of male respondents stating they had life insurance, compared to 51% of women.
In general, people seem to be satisfied with their policies. Over three-quarters (77%) of those with cover said that they were either happy or very happy with it.
Honesty is everything
But could some consumers be at risk of having their policies cancelled or claims refused due to dishonesty during the application process? It’s important to be aware that failing to provide an insurer with accurate information when applying for cover can result in these outcomes. Concerningly, 15% of people we polled reported being only partially truthful when making their applications and a further 6% revealed they had been untruthful. This compared with 79% who said they had been fully truthful when providing personal information to their insurer. Interestingly, women appeared to be more honest than men when it came to disclosing this information. Nearly 9 in 10 women (85%) reported being fully truthful, as opposed to less than three-quarters (72%) of men.
A family focus
Nearly two-fifths (39%) of people with life insurance in place said they took it out when they were aged 25 to 34. This is perhaps not surprising given that 75% of those with cover cited providing financially for their family as a main priority for getting a life insurance policy. With the average age of first-time mothers in England and Wales now 29 and the average age of first-time fathers 33 , it makes sense that it is common for people in this age bracket to take out life cover. Just over a fifth (22%) of those with life insurance took it out between the ages of 35 and 44, while 20% bought a policy aged 18 to 24. More than one tenth (12%) waited until they were between the ages of 45 and 54, while 7% delayed getting life insurance until they were 55 or older.
Among those who didn’t have life insurance in place, 32% said they lacked this protection because getting it was too expensive, while 28% said they believed they were too young for this type of cover. When asked which life events would encourage them to take out a policy, 36% said becoming financially wealthy would motivate them to do so, while 25% said starting a family and 19% said getting a mortgage.
Family protection was ranked as the most important factor when choosing life insurance, followed by the monthly or annual cost of the policy, mortgage value, the insurer and then the cover amount. In terms of how much people are willing to pay for this type of cover, 30% of respondents said they would be prepared to part with £15 to £20 a month, while 29% said their limit was £15. Nearly one in five respondents (19%) suggested they would pay £21 to £30 per month for a policy, 10% said their budget would stretch to £31 to £40 and 6% said they would shell out £41 to £50. The same percentage stated they would pay £51 or more each month to have this financial protection in place.
Getting the right cover for you
Our survey revealed that there is a lot of variation in the UK in terms of people’s approaches to life insurance and how much they know about it. By making sure you’re clued up when it comes to this type of financial cover, you can be confident you’re getting the right policy for you - giving you added peace of mind and helping to protect your loved ones’ finances when you’re no longer around.
