The insurance is seen as superfluous - despite it offering a very important service.
The critical illness insurance sector has failed to make inroads with British consumers, Defaqto has revealed.
According to the financial analysis firm, the ongoing economic slowdown has tightened many people's budgets and focussed minds away from insurance protection. Critical illness insurance, which works by offering cover for the policyholder if he or she is diagnosed with a serious medical condition, is thought to be particularly hard hit.
The apparent apathy towards the insurance comes despite the fact that, according to a YouGov poll commissioned by Defaqto, just 15 percent of Britons feel that they could "get by" without "financial difficulty", if they faced a sudden change in life circumstances. Moreover, 30 percent said that they would "constantly struggle" if they suffered from a long term illness.
Commenting on the results Steve Gazzard, operations director at The Institute of Financial Planning, said: "It does appear that over three quarters of dependents would continue to struggle in the case of long term illness or incapacity."
Ben Heffer, a consultant at Defaqto, added: "The YouGov research underlines what many in the industry already know, that protection has to be sold. Providers must be prepared to devote more marketing effort to protection…and advisers must seek out potential clients to convince them of their need for protection products."
Defaqto's research was carried out in support of national Financial Planning Week.
