According
to research by provider Scottish Widows, 23% of workers admit that any savings they
have would not last longer than a couple of months if they were absent from
work through long term illness or injury. Despite this, a
surprising number are without any sort of income protection. In fact, of all
those asked, less than one in 20 had cover in place to protect their finances
if the worst was to happen.
The
poll by Scottish Widows asked 5,000 people about their finances, revealing attitudes
and general knowledge regarding protection.
More than 4 in 5 people had heard
of life insurance, income protection and critical illness, yet just one in 10
have a critical illness policy.
Currently in the UK people are more likely to protect
their home than their income, with almost half of those polled saying that they
had chosen to take out home insurance.
More
startling, 8 out of 10 considered broadband crucial for daily living and 7 in
10 believed mobile phones were also a vital lifestyle choice. But only 4 in 10 saw
providing financial security for their family in the event of death as
essential, which is a drop from 5 in 10 four years ago.
Despite
one in seven of those surveyed saying that they had been affected by critical
illness, the UK is still a considerably unprotected nation. That is why providers
are working hard to create added-value benefits to their policies to give
people the best chance to protect themselves.
