Furthermore, a growing number of consumers are now cutting back on their insurance policies, with almost one in 10 (8%) cutting back on important areas in the past 12 months.
Karen Barrett, CEO of unbiased.co.uk, said:
"Consumers looking to tighten their purse strings are now adding insurance policies to the 'cancellation list', choosing to let go of their financial security in favour of some extra cash in their pockets. The 'it won't happen to me' attitude seems to be at the forefront of people's minds as they fail to realise what this may cost them in the future.
"We need to raise awareness amongst consumers that the state is no longer prepared to intervene in the event of ill-health or redundancy; it is up to each of us to take on this financial responsibility."
Our recent survey found that over 15 million UK adults would be financially at risk if they were to lose their main source of income , yet despite this, 15% of people don't see income protection as necessary and 15% claim that they can't afford it.
In addition, when consumers were asked which insurance products they rated as most important in providing them and their family with long-term financial security, income protection was ranked seventh, below mortgage payment protection, motor insurance and building and contents insurance.
