Protection planning being ignored by those who need it most

An astonishing fifty-seven per cent of 25-34 year olds would not be able to afford their monthly outgoings if they were off work for a prolonged period of time, according to research by Co-operative Insurance (CIS).

In a survey of over 1,500 people across the UK, CIS found that key life-changing moments such as buying a house, getting married or having a baby, are not acting as the trigger they should for consumers to evaluate their protection needs.

Overall, women are more conscious of their protection needs than their male counterparts, with over a third (35%) seeing their first home purchase as a time to consider making a provision for possible sickness or a serious illness in later life. Whereas just under a quarter of men (24%) share this same view.

More worryingly, only a quarter (26%) of those surveyed feel that it is important to make future protection provisions when starting a family, while only one in ten (11%) of people think that getting married is an important time to assess their protection requirements.

Fiona Jackson, Head of Protection at Co-operative Insurance said: “It can be hard to visualise a future where we are not as healthy as we are now, which is why many of us never get around to protecting ourselves fully.

“In reality, people should use these life-changing events as the catalyst to consider their financial situation, particularly if they find themselves in financial difficulty. Forward planning is essential - if they don’t take time out to plan, then people run the real risk of having inadequate cover in place to protect both their individual and family needs.“