Survey says: Kiwis would rather insure property than selves

Kiwis are more focused on insuring their car, home and contents than themselves, and are no more insured than they were four years ago, according to a recent Trade Me survey which found half of Kiwis don’t have life insurance cover.

Trade Me’s Head of Insurance Jaime Monaghan said 1,000 New Zealanders aged 18-65 took part in a survey last month which sought to understand Kiwis attitudes towards insurance.

“We found that 88 per cent of respondents have vehicle insurance, 74 per cent have home and contents but just 51 per cent have life insurance. When we look at health insurance it’s even lower at just 41 per cent.”

Ms Monaghan said it comes down to the good old ‘she’ll be right’ attitude and it seems this Kiwi mantra is still alive and well.

“We ran a similar survey in 2014 and very little has changed in the last four years. Back then just 51 per cent of Kiwis said they had life insurance, 45 per cent had health insurance and 88 per cent had vehicle insurance too.”

Ms Monaghan said Kiwis were telling them that life insurance isn’t important. “Twenty per cent of our survey respondents said life insurance isn’t important to them and that compares to just 4 per cent for vehicle insurance and 5 per cent for home and contents.

“While it’s definitely important to have insurance for your large assets, we’d argue the greatest asset you have is you and your ability to earn money for you and your family.

“These aren’t conversations or things we want to think about but at the moment we’re concerned that too many New Zealanders simply don’t want to think about the what ifs but if something unexpected happened to your partner or loved one for example, would you have enough money to get by?”

Why get life insurance?
Ms Monaghan said that the concept of vehicle and home insurance has long been drummed into us, it’s there if something bad should happen so you’re not stuck with a bill you can’t afford to pay. “If your house burns down or if you have an accident in your car you want insurance there to foot the bill - most people can’t buy a new car or replace their house from their savings alone.

“The same is true of life insurance. If your partner were to pass away life insurance buys you the time to get back on your feet and help pay off your debt. It helps ensure that you don’t have financial concerns in addition to adjusting to life without your partner.”

Vehicle insurance most important
“When it comes to what Kiwis value the most, vehicle insurance came out on top. Eighty six per cent of Kiwis told us that vehicle insurance was important or very important to them while just 52 per cent said that life insurance was important.

“There’s a common misconception that life insurance is really expensive, which is probably why so many Kiwis haven’t looked into it but there are a range of options for every budget. For example, a 35 year old male, non-smoker with no pre-existing medical conditions can get life cover of $500,000 from around $7.60 a week.”

Millennials are the most under insured
Ms Monaghan said millennials were, unsurprisingly, the most under insured.

“While 71 per cent of millennials have vehicle insurance just 29 per cent of them have house and contents insurance, and 22 per cent have life insurance.

“Those aged 36-45 were the most insured with 87 per cent having home, contents and vehicle insurance, 48 per cent having health insurance, and 66 per cent have life insurance.”

Couples with children have more life cover
Ms Monaghan said that couples with children had greater rates of life insurance (66.5 per cent) but still far below vehicle (91 per cent) and home and contents (84 per cent).

“Of course parents want to make sure their families are taken care of should the unexpected happen. Children are a major consideration when weighing up the insurance you get but it’s not just parents who need to be insured, if you’re leaving debt behind that needs to be paid you need to consider insurance.”

Kiwis prefer to buy insurance online
Ms Monaghan said these days, many Kiwis prefer to buy insurance online.

“Buying insurance online has become the most common way of getting cover with 63 per cent of Kiwis claiming that they prefer jumping online to sort out their insurance.”

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