Just a quarter (23%) of unmarried couples who own jointly or plan to will be able to rely on their partner’s life insurance to cover their financial commitments should they die or become terminally ill.
For others, should the worse happen one in four (24%) would sell their joint property, 8% would rely on help from family and friends and 5% would risk repossession.
Between 2003 and 2013 there was a 28% increase in the number of unmarried opposite sex co-habiting couples, with 41% having children living with them.
In the same period there was a 68% rise in same sex couples living together.
Mark Russell, head of marketing at Santander Insurance, said: “Modern families come in all shapes and sizes nowadays and there has been a significant increase in the number of unmarried family units.
“However, unmarried couples tend to consider life insurance less than married couples so we want to make sure this audience is aware of the importance of financially protecting themselves for the eventuality that their other half passes away or becomes unable to contribute.
“A good number of these family units include dependent children which makes it all the more important that life and critical illness cover are in place.”
Many co-habiting couples stay unmarried for financial reasons, with one in four (24%) admitting they cannot afford it, while 7% live together to save on housing. Nearly one in five (18%) couples do not want to get married, while in one in 10 cases (10%) one of them doesn’t want to.
