Press Release

Gloomy Outlook As Consumers Fail To Protect Themselves Against Economic Downturn

13 July 2008

New consumer research commissioned by the ABI has shown that people are pessimistic about the current and future economic climate. Despite this, many are failing to consider protection insurance products which would give them financial support in the event of redundancy. The survey, carried out by YouGov on behalf of the ABI, showed that:

•    92% think that the economic environment is worse now than it was a year ago
•    82% expect the economic environment to worsen over the next 12 months
•    69% of respondents said they would not be willing to take out any protection insurance products in the future

Nick Kirwan, the ABI’s Assistant Director, Health and Protection Insurance, said:

“It is worrying that so many people are not prepared to look at taking out protection insurance, even insurance which covers redundancy given the uncertain economic outlook. It’s clear that we need to work harder to get the message across about the peace of mind and value that having the right protection insurance gives individuals and families. We recently published a consumer factsheet on protection insurance products. We hope this will encourage more people to consider protecting their most important financial assets – their income and their home.”

Rebecca Driver, the ABI’s Director of Research and Chief Economist, added:

“Confidence in the economy is deteriorating rapidly: 61% of people now think the economy is a lot worse than a year ago, compared to 49% in April. Only 5% expect the situation to improve in the next year. But people are less pessimistic about their own circumstances – while 9% feel a lot more concerned about the prospects of losing their job than they were three months ago, 13% actually feel a lot less concerned. However, only 31% think that they could cope financially with job loss. Given the economic outlook and the risk of rising unemployment, people need to develop strategies to protect themselves better.”