The insurer also found that 47% of people have no idea how much life insurance costs, with this rising to more than half (53%) of those who cited affordability as the reason why they have no life cover.
And it seems the misconception of the cost gets worse with age with 58% of 55-65 year olds admitting they have no idea what life cover costs.
SunLife’s research also shows that of those that do not have life cover, more than a quarter (26%) are concerned that they do not have any in place.
One in 10 said their family would lose all or most of its monthly income if they were to become critically ill or die while 8% said they did not know what the financial implications would be.
Dean Lamble, managing director at SunLife, said: “Our research shows people are not protecting themselves with life cover because they think it is much more expensive than it is; this misconception needs to be addressed.
“As an industry, we have an important role to play – we need to make life insurance more accessible so that more people realise they can afford it.”
Support Mortgage Introducer’s IPso facto campaign committing advisers to asking every client about protection insurance by tweeting #tellingIPstraight.
