People 'twice as likely' to insure their pets as themselves

It may not be the first time we've heard this barking mad statistic, but research from Cirencester Friendly has hit home the extent to which people are more willing to insure their pet than themselves.

A survey of more than 2000 UK employees found that a third (33%) of people - rising to 38% of women - said they have, or would take out, pet insurance to cover them in case they need medical help, while a further 30% said they would take out mobile phone insurance.

Cirencester Friendly said these figures are significantly higher than three years ago, when 21% and 16% said they would insure their pet and mobile phone respectively.

However, despite this, interest in income protection (IP) has remain stagnant, with only 17% of employees in the UK saying that IP is something they have or would have.

The research findings also showed that this issue is not necessarily cost, with 16-24 year olds willing to pay an average of £25.47 a month to insure their pet, which, according to Cirencester Friendly, would be more expensive than the estimated* cost of their income protection.

‘Questionable choice of priorities'

"It is pleasing to see increasing numbers of people turning to insurance to provide peace of mind should the worst happen," said David Macgregor, commercial director at Cirencester Friendly. "Only 9% say they would not take out any insurance at all - a significant drop from 16% in 2016.

"However, insuring your income, in case illness or injury prevents you from working is still too low on the agenda. Double the amount of people would choose to insure their pets rather than themselves, sadly highlighting a questionable choice of priorities. Falling ill or being too injured to work can be stressful at the best of times and that is without considering the financial implications, which can result in people trying to return to work even if they are not really fit enough to do so - potentially creating even more distress. We hope that the rising trend in insurance will be echoed with income protection and we will see more people choosing to protect their earnings."

*It would cost £22.36 for a 24 year old to take out My Earnings Protected Contract or £21.63 per month for an Income Assured Enhanced Contract with Cirencester Friendly, based on cover of £1,000 per month benefit, payable after one week of illness or injury.

• Tweet  
• Facebook  
• LinkedIn  
• Send to  

• Topics
• Protection