Many Australians do not believe they hold sufficient personal life insurance despite rising levels of life insurance through superannuation, with about 30 per cent not holding any insurance at all.
The findings are part of research conducted by TAL to construct its Australian Financial Protection Index which measures what form of life insurance is held and whether policy holders believe they have adequate coverage.
TAL questioned more than 1200 Australians aged between 18 and 69 on the types of life insurance they held and whether they felt their cover was sufficient if they or their partner could no longer work.
The results were given a score from 0 to 100 where the upper range indicates respondents held each form of life insurance and felt they had adequate cover.
According to TAL the national average score was 24.2 which TAL managing director Jim Minto says is surprising given the take-up of life insurance through superannuation funds.
However Minto says while many people may have insurance through a superannuation fund they may not be aware if it nor if the type of insurance and cover will meet their needs.
The perception-based index scored slightly higher among those aged 34 to 49 years (25.3) and those who had household incomes above $90,000 (31.7) as well as those who held a mortgage (32.2).
While about 30 per cent of respondents said they held not personal insurance cover at all, a quarter of respondents had a score between 30 and 70 but less than 10 per cent had a score over 70.
Minto says there seem to be a greater appreciation of insurance among those with more to lose but even those group had low levels of penetration and were only marginally better off compared to the national average.
