A recent study carried out by MoneySuperMarket on 2,047 UK adults found that 49% of people asked were seriously underestimating their life insurance cover. Almost half of people asked had no idea how much cover they needed, whilst men believed they needed 25% more cover than women.

According to a spokesman from MoneySuperMarket, life insurance is "an absolutely crucial foundation for family finances, but millions of Brits either don't have it, or don't have enough."

The spokesman also said that, as a rough estimate, life cover should equal 10 times someone's annual salary, but that each situation should be considered individually. 

The study found that people working in different industries had vastly different ideas about how much cover they might need. 

People in the property undervalued their cover their most by a staggering £138,000. Second was childcare with an undervalue of £97,000, followed by IT with an undervalue of £86,000. 

On the other hand, those in the art and design industry were found to overvalue their cover by £116,000. 

Tom Conner, from Drewberry Insurance, warns of the vulnerability of people to "financial shocks that include an injury or illness that prevents them from working.". However, he also points out that although life insurance cover is "better than no cover at all", people are overly reliant on typical group life schemes. Conner says that they are often inadequate and "could still leave a large gap between the payout and a remaining mortgage balance, especially when considering the various statistics on the cost of raising a child to factor in, as well as keeping up with the mortgage and other daily living expenses while down one income into the household."

Therefore, it is important to also consider some form of income protection to safeguard yourself and your family in the event of serious injury or illness.