Consumers fail to protect themselves

The survey, carried out by YouGov on behalf of the ABI, showed that:

• 92% think that the economic environment is worse now than it was a year ago

• 82% expect the economic environment to worsen over the next 12months

• 69% of respondents said they would not be willing to take out any protection insurance products in the future

Nick Kirwan, the ABI's assistant director, health and protection insurance, said: "It is worrying that so many people are not prepared to look at taking out protection insurance, even insurance which covers redundancy given the uncertain economic outlook. It's clear that we need to work harder to get the message across about the peace of mind and value that having the right protection insurance gives individuals and families. We recently published a consumer factsheet on protection insurance products. We hope this will encourage more people to consider protecting their most important financial assets - their income and their home."