"Households across the UK continue to face difficult financial decisions, and our research highlights a worrying contradiction."
- Phil Jeynes - MetLife UK
New research from MetLife UK has found that three in four advisers see homeowners becoming concerned about their financial resilience, rising household costs are forcing many to reconsider or reduce their cover.
75% of advisers say clients are now more concerned about mortgage protection than they were 12 months ago, with 22% describing clients as “much more concerned” and 53% as “slightly more concerned”.
Despite this heightened awareness, there exists what MetLife UK describes as a growing mortgage protection paradox, as financial strain is also creating instability among customers who already have cover in place.
77% of advisers have seen an increase in clients cancelling policies or reducing their level of protection over the past year, with 25% reporting a significant increase and 52% reporting a slight increase. Only 16% reported no change in the number of clients cancelling policies or reducing cover during this period.
Meanwhile, 43% of advisers said they often hear clients say they intend to take out mortgage protection but then fail to follow through, while 24% said this always happens following such conversations.
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MetLife UK says that the findings highlight a growing challenge for the protection market: consumers are increasingly aware of the financial risks they face, but short-term affordability pressures are making it harder for some households to maintain or initiate the protection they may need most.
"Households across the UK continue to face difficult financial decisions, and our research highlights a worrying contradiction: people are increasingly aware of the need for protection, but some are having to make difficult choices as budgets remain under pressure," Phil Jeynes, head of individual protection at MetLife UK, said.
"We get it. We understand that families are making difficult choices about where their money goes, and that protection has to compete with many other household priorities. That is why advisers play such an important role in helping customers understand the value of cover and make decisions that are right for their circumstances."
