AIG last week released the results of a survey of 380 people which canvassed views on a range of personal financial issues, including life insurance.
Some interesting points to ponder...
·48% of Kiwis have life insurance - compared with 80% of Australians (taken from a similar survey carried out in 2005), 67% of Singaporeans and 53% of Hong Kong residents.
·Two primary reasons were given by respondents for not purchasing cover: 1) a lack of funds and 2) the belief that insurance is not worth the cost.
·Of those respondents that said they were uninsured, 71% said they would use their savings if the need arose and the rest would rely on family support or equity in their property while 50% of these respondents said they could not survive more than 6 months without their usual income.
One of the conclusions reportedly drawn by AIG was that “the resistance to insurance take-up stems largely from the incorrect assumption that personal insurance is expensive”.
I’d like to add another. Life insurance has traditionally not been an easy product to buy. Of course that’s all changed now with instant online insurance arriving in NZ during 2007.
Why do you think only 48% of Kiwis have life insurance? Really interested to hear your views...
