The protection provider said that women were failing to safeguard their families’ financial futures by placing a much lower monetary value on their lives compared to men.
Men take out around 23% more life cover than women in their 30s with the gap getting progressively wider up to those in their 60s when men take out 94% more life cover than women.
Jennifer Gilchrist, senior product development manager, at Scottish Provident, said: “It's a worrying situation especially so when you consider factors like the increase in single parent families and increasing numbers of women working mean more families are now dependent on a woman's salary as the main earner in the household.
“At the moment we have a situation where females are taking out far less cover than males even though, with women living longer than men, it means that currently life cover for females is much cheaper. But that's about to change.
“With the new EU gender directive coming into force in December, the cost of protection for women is set to rise substantially, with some projecting a rise of around 20%. So we urge women to make 2012 the year in which they act to protect their families' financial security."
