Sainsbury's Bank: One in three life insurance policies are out of date
Tuesday, 23 November 2004 07:32
Sainsbury's Bank is calling for people to review their life cover because as changes in circumstances, such as starting a family or increasing a mortgage since buying cover, could leave many underinsured.
Research by Consumer Intelligence reveals that 33 per cent of people with life assurance bought their last policy over five years ago and around half of these were taken out over ten years ago. The research also indicates that almost half of the people with life cover only hold one policy.
Donald Jarvie, Sainsbury's Bank life cover manager, said: "Given that people's circumstances are always changing, people should review their cover on a regular basis to ensure they are adequately covered.
"People may not realise that they can 'top up' their existing cover with an additional policy.
"Existing policyholders should also check that the premiums they are paying are competitive and if not, be prepared to switch to another provider.
"As long as comparable cover with a new provider is in place before cancelling an existing contract, there is nothing to lose and potentially a lot to gain."
Consumer Intelligence's research reveals that the main reasons for taking out cover were buying a property or remortgaging (44 per cent), thinking it would be a good idea (17 per cent), and to protect families from loss of earnings (16 per cent).
Only nine per cent of respondents took out their policy to top up their existing cover.
The main factors that influence people's decision over which life assurance to buy are the level of cover, price, how easy it is to arrange and service levels.
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