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Life Insurance - Why Does Less Than Half The UK Population Have Cover?
By admin | June 30, 2008
Less than 50% of the UK population has any form of life insurance cover, says Swiss Re, one of the largest insurance companies in the world. In their latest annual report they estimate that ฃ4.2 trillion worth of insurance cover is needed whereas only ฃ1.8 trillion has been taken up. That leaves an insurance gap of ฃ2.3 trillion.
But in all probability, the gap is not that large. Firstly, there’s the people who are ruled out from having life insurance due to their age - just over 1 in 5 are under 18 years of age, the minimum for life insurance cover, and 1 in 6 are over 65 and they’re effectively uninsurable. Then there’s a raft of single folks aged between 18 and 65 without dependents, and for whom life insurance is just not necessary. Having said that, without doubt, there are still many families who desperately need life insurance but who don’t have cover.
Why do they hold back?
There are still plenty of people who have no idea what life insurance does and because it’s never top of their minds and they don’t care, nothing ever gets done. After all life insurance isn’t exactly a thrill to buy, there’s no pleasurable window-shopping or sense of enjoyment about it. The likelihood is that unless a financial advisor sits down in front of these people and talks about life insurance, they’ll remain totally uninsured and uninterested.
The media coverage given to the insurance industry also tends not to help. The press is regularly full of stories about one company or another that has turned down a claim. These stories make headlines as behind them, there’s always a sad story of personal tragedy and distress. It all gives the industry a tarnished image and creates a feeling that they can’t be trusted.
Then there are those who realise life insurance is needed but just can’t be bothered or say they can’t afford it. More realistically, for many
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Topics: Insurance |