To say that the last few years have been very up-and-down ones in most of our lives would be quite the understatement. Whether it’s COVID-19, Brexit, or other sources of social or political tumult, we’ve all had a lot to think about in recent times.
That, in turn, is perhaps underlining the urgently important role that financial protection products, such as critical illness cover and income protection insurance, can play. But how many of us have even heard of these products, or know how each of them works?
The answer might be... surprisingly few of us, at least as far as recent research cited by the Financial Times newspaper’s FTAdviser website has discovered.
Almost a fifth of you have never heard of income protection
The study in question surveyed 2,000 UK adults in July 2021, exploring their knowledge and understanding of the various financial protection products on the market today. And it’s fair to say there were more than a few potentially concerning outcomes.
Nearly one in five of the poll’s respondents, for example, had never heard of income protection insurance, while a sixth (17%) of the research participants had never heard of mortgage payment cover protection. More-or-less the same proportion of people (16%) had no awareness of what critical illness cover was.
Even among those who had heard of such popular protection products, significant numbers of UK adults admitted that they did not understand what those products specifically offered.
18% of those quizzed, for instance, said they had heard of critical illness cover, but did not understand what coverage it provided. There was a similar percentage (20%) who stated the same about income protection insurance.
Does it really matter that a lot of people don’t know much about financial protection?
This is likely to be an interesting question for many of you. After all, you might imagine that you’re relatively unlikely to need to use such a product. There is also a misconception in some quarters that financial protection plans are always expensive, and that they don’t pay out when required, all of which is far from the truth.
The reality is, none of us can be entirely sure when we might find ourselves sustaining an injury or falling ill, which are circumstances when we may be very thankful for having the right financial protection policy in place.
Sure enough, the aforementioned study also found that one in six (16%) of those polled had previously needed a protection policy, but did not have one in place. And a whopping 73% of workers admitted that they had worried about being forced to take time off work due to an illness or injury since the onset of the pandemic; of these, 30% worried more than they previously did.
Never underestimate the invaluable help financial protection can provide
Peace of mind, we’re sure you will agree, is a more precious commodity than ever these days. But if you want to be sure of being well-protected - and have therefore decided to look out for a financial protection policy - you will also need to ensure you select the right one for your circumstances and requirements.
Here at QuoteLifeCover.com, we can help you to start making sense of this insurance market that can be so confusing or overwhelming for so many people, and to gain access to the best quotes.
Our partnerships with trusted specialist intermediaries can help bring you closer to the life insurance, critical illness cover, or income protection insurance that most suits your needs. So, why wait any longer to request your free quote?
