Sales of
life insurance to new home owners have dropped significantly in the last decade, recent figures have indicated.
According to research carried out by Edinburgh insurance company Aegon, eight out of ten people making new property purchases are not taking out such policies.
It is thought that the drop is due to it no longer being compulsory to buy cover as part of the
mortgage, a condition which was removed around ten years ago.
Currently, between 15 and 25 per cent of those taking out a
mortgage are also buying
life assurance with their new home.
The study also revealed that less life cover is being bought by people in their twenties, with the average age for buying this kind of policy now being 35 to 40 years old.
Aegon head of sales Alun Beynon said: "In the 1980s buying some life cover was a condition of a
mortgage. But that has gone now. The result is that many who would automatically have bought
life insurance are not doing so."
Mr Beynon added that home owners are taking a "big risk" by not protecting their families with
life insurance.
