Stroke occurs approximately 152,000 times a year in the UK – that’s one every three minutes and 27 seconds – and there are more than 1.2 million stroke survivors.
Advisers have a window of opportunity to pick up the phone to unprotected clients this month with May being Stroke Awareness month.
Stroke occurs approximately 152,000 times a year in the UK – that’s one every three minutes and 27 seconds – and there are more than 1.2 million stroke survivors.
It’s the single largest cause of death in the UK and second in the world, and by the age of 75, one in five women and one in six men will have a stroke.
But research from Scottish Widows has found just 28% of us feel that financial security for dependants in the event of becoming critically ill is a necessity.
And only 39% of us feel that protecting our families in the event of death is essential, a number which has dropped from more than half (53%) in just four years.
Stroke was the third largest cause of critical illness claims at Scottish Widows in 2014, and the fifth largest cause of life cover claims.
The company paid out more than £10.3m for these claims – the equivalent of just under £40,000 every working day that year.
The average age of people who claimed for stroke-related critical illness claims was 48 for women and 50 for men.
Two thirds (66.6%) of life cover claimants were male, compared with 54% for critical illness.
Scott Cadger, head of underwriting and claims strategy at Scottish Widows, said: “Something like a stroke can often result in disruption to an individual’s ability to work and the loss of income for a pivotal member of the family can have huge repercussions for those who depend on them.
“It’s human nature to avoid thinking about the worst, but the peace of mind that financial protection provides can be very liberating.”
