Nearly half of the UK’s single population does not have adequate financial protection to fall back on in the event of serious illness or loss of income, warned Zurich.
A survey of single people in the 35 to 45 age bracket revealed that they considered buying a car and regular holidays as being more important then critical illness cover, permanent health insurance and mortgage protection.
The research found that only 24% of singles said they would seek financial help from a family member in the event of serious illness, accident or loss of employment.
But nearly half of respondents (46%) said they had no form of critical illness cover, and 52% said they did not have permanent health insurance.
Of the homeowners surveyed, only 46% said they had taken out mortgage protection insurance, with only 265 buying income protection.
Of those surveyed, 72% said they would not consider cutting back on their monthly expenditure to fund critical illness cover of private health insurance.
Zurich product management and development director Simon Foster, said: “Singletons think they are footloose and fancy free but, if they are unable to work, they can only rely on £3752 a year from the State.
“In reality, they risk being dependent on friends and family if they can’t work or fall ill, the complete opposite of the independent lifestyle they crave. This presents a massive untapped opportunity for the savvy adviser.
Zurich has produced a guide ‘Independent Single and Sorted’ to offer financial advice to single people on how to live financially independent lives. The guide is available to download from singleandsorted.co.uk.
