More than a third (39%) of respondents do not have any form of life insurance, according to research by Canada Life Group Insurance.
Its study of 600 UK workers also found that 38% of respondents have not given any thought to life protection.
The research also found:
- 59% of respondents who do not have life insurance said that being offered this benefit by their employer would make them feel more valued, and 21% said they would feel very valued.
- 51% said that if offered life insurance, it would improve their perception of their employer.
- 34% did not know how immediate costs, such as funeral expenses, would be met if anything was to happen to them.
- 37% of respondents did not know how their survivors would meet long-term financial demands, including housing costs.
- 38% of respondents said that, if their survivors were to rely only on savings and help from family and friends, they would expect their standard of living to be affected within one year.
- 27% of respondents said their employer had not considered life insurance as a benefit because of the cost.
Paul Avis, marketing director at Canada Life Group Insurance, said: “As sub-50 employers are enrolled into automatic pensions, employers can no longer rely on just a salary and basic pension package to support their recruitment and retention efforts. Everyone will soon be offered a pension, so it’s important that employers consider how they can stand out from the crowd: simple and cost-effective employee benefits are an obvious solution.
“Many employees are currently burying their heads in the sand and choosing to ignore unpleasant issues, as demonstrated by the large numbers that do not have a will in place and have not considered how their death would affect their families financially.
“One of the most common reasons for not having life insurance is it is too expensive, but employers can offer this to their staff for less than 1% of salary. Our survey shows staff would feel more valued and therefore probably more likely to stay within their current organisation, if their employer provided a group life assurance policy.
“Group life assurance offers invaluable support, for example, through a probate and bereavement helpline, as well as much-needed financial security to employees’ families in the event of death.”