33% of people, rising to 38% of women say that they have, or would take out pet insurance in case their pet were to need medical help. A further 30% of people would take out mobile phone insurance. These figures are significantly higher than three years ago, when just 21% would insure their pets and 16% their mobile phone.
However, despite improving attitudes towards insurance for pets and phones, income protection – which provides workers with income if they are unable to work due to illness or injury – remains less popular. Only 17% of workers in the UK either have or would take out this form of insurance. These findings come from independent research by Censuswide of over 2,000 workers in the UK, aged between 18 and 54.
Despite people’s reluctance to take out income protection, this is not necessarily a question of cost. 16-24 year olds would pay an average of £25.47 per month to insure their pet – more than the cost to take out income protection, at less than £23 per month*.
Commenting on the findings, David Macgregor, Commercial Director at Cirencester Friendly said: “It is pleasing to see increasing numbers of people turning to insurance to provide peace of mind should the worst happen. Only 9% say they would not take out any insurance at all – a significant drop from 16% in 2016.
“However, insuring your income, in case illness or injury prevents you from working is still too low on the agenda. Double the amount of people would choose to insure their pets rather than themselves, sadly highlighting a questionable choice of priorities. Falling ill or being too injured to work can be stressful at the best of times and that is without considering the financial implications, which can result in people trying to return to work even if they are not really fit enough to do so - potentially creating even more distress. We hope that the rising trend in insurance will be echoed with income protection and we will see more people choosing to protect their earnings.”
*It would cost £22.36 for a 24 year old to take out My Earnings Protected Contract or £21.63 per month for an Income Assured Enhanced Contract with Cirencester Friendly, based on cover of £1,000 per month benefit, payable after 1 week of illness or injury.
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