Thirty-nine percent of U.S. adults do not have life insurance,
These results and other survey results from ING and MetLife, all announced in conjunction with Life Insurance Awareness Month, suggest that a substantial number of Americans are inadequately prepared for end-of-life issues.
Today, ING announced findings from a consumer study of attitudes and behaviors toward life insurance. According to the research, “
The study also revealed individuals who purchased life insurance face-to-face with a financial professional felt the most confident and knowledgeable about their coverage, and 49 percent look to their employer as the only source for insurance coverage. Employees without access to life insurance benefits at the workplace were seven times more likely to have no coverage at all than employees who did have access.
Meanwhile, 61 percent had never calculated their life insurance needs and 44 percent had little or no confidence that the amount of life insurance coverage they had was sufficient.
The study also showed communication is an area for further opportunity. While 62 percent identified family as the number one reason to purchase life insurance, many couples confirmed that they avoid discussing the issue. Among married respondents, 45 percent had rarely or never talked with their spouse about what would happen to the family finances should one of them pass away.
The study found that workers both with or without minor children have, in general, only about three times their annual household income covered by life insurance. This amount may be inadequate with the addition of children as the number and age of dependents should be taken into consideration when determining the amount of coverage needed.