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We are more likely to have pet insurance than income protection


Research by legal services provider Epoq shows that we're more likely to insure our pets than protect our income or our health, or to future-plan against critical conditions. The research revealed that nearly a third of Brits have pet insurance, compared to only a quarter who have some form of income protection. Only 31% have critical illness cover, 31% have private medical insurance, 30% of us insure our phones and gadgets and 25% have dental cover. The research was conducted by Opinium in June 2018 among 1,234 employees from across the UK. The figures are even more surprising as, whilst all those surveyed had an income, not all had a pet. This shows us that when it comes to protecting ourselves against life's unexpected turns, Brits priorities are quite worrying.

23% out of the 32% who have pet insurance have paid for the pet insurance themselves, only 14% out of the 25% who have a form of income protection paid for their own premiums. Those who hadn't payed for it themselves had received the insurance as an employee benefit and it means that 23% chose to pay for pet insurance whereas only 14% chose to buy an income protection policy themselves. 

Epoq commercial director Andrew Walker said: "While medical and life insurance were understandably the most common forms of employer paid insurance, there may be room to add extra value to the type of employee benefits on offer. For example, last year's Epoq research found that just over two-fifths of respondents (41%) have a will. This suggests there are lots of people of working age who need to create important legal documents like wills but aren't doing so, possibly due to a lack of advice, awareness or simply a lack of convenient access to the right services.

"Clearly there's a need here, and if employers were to provide a wills service as a benefit, it stands to reason that more people would more likely choose to make one and so protect their interests and those of their loved ones."

Income protection is generally considered to be one of the most important forms of insurance for employees, as it replaces your income if you can no longer work due to an accident or illness. It can also protect you financially against the risk of involuntary redundancy.


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