The global pandemic has fuelled growing awareness of the need for insurance, with the tragic events of the past year placing mortality firmly under the spotlight.
According to research from Canada Life, the pandemic has prompted 5.8 million, or 11% of UK adults, to buy or consider buying life insurance.
There was also a sharp 40% increase in the number of people considering private health insurance in 2020, as the pandemic stoked new fears for personal health.
Yet, despite increasing societal consciousness, property technology solution provider Moveable said many people continue to remain exposed to the “unexpected eventualities” of life.
According to Moveable, there are still 32.9 million, or 63% of UK adults, that don’t have any active life insurance policy in place. This form of insurance will be particularly important for those with mortgages and homes, with millions of families at risk of being burdened by property debts.
Furthermore, a vast number of homeowners do not have home insurance. Moveable said that with almost a million people purchasing and moving home over the last year in a rush to beat the stamp duty holiday deadline, there is a significant risk that many people will have either overpaid due to rash decisions or have forgotten their home insurance entirely. This will have added to the six million uninsured homes according to Nelson Insurers and the £266 billion of content that remains unprotected.
Moveable also warned that with homeowner habits changing, including home improvements or having a home gym installed, millions of policies will have been drastically affected, void entirely or totally forgotten.
Simon Bath, CEO of Moveable, says: “The last year and a half has impacted the lives of everyone. This turbulent time has reminded many of us how important being protected against the worst-case scenario is, as the worst-case scenario has been felt by so many millions throughout the world.
“People have considered insurance as a result of this, particularly health and life insurance in record numbers but many sectors are still woefully underinsured, especially the property market after such an intense period of activity. It is always worth being covered.”
