Credit, finance and insurance

New Research Confirms Naivety as a Key Cause of Australia’s Underinsurance Problem

Seo Elite: New Seo Software! The Grand Daddy Of All Seo Software! Get A Top 5 Searchengine-Ranking In Under 30 Days!

(PRWEB) March 31, 2010 -- Widespread and profound naivety is contributing to a massive underinsurance problem across Australia, according to new research into life and income protection (https://www.lifebroker.com.au/quote/income-protection) insurance by lifebroker, launched today.

Lifebroker CEO, Chris Eade, said the study of 1000 Australians by Sweeney Research showed a profound lack of awareness and understanding of both the financial risks posed by illnesses, injury and premature death, and the insurance policies that protect people from these risks, were the major causes of underinsurance.

Examples of naivety identified by the research included:

* 71 per cent of Australians mistakenly believe the federal government is required by law to provide financial support to families in the event of the premature death of a family member.

* 70 per cent mistakenly believe the federal government is required by law to pay a replacement income to workers if they stop work due to illness or injury not caused at work.

* 82 per cent mistakenly believe Income protection insurance pays a replacement income if they lose or quit their job.

* 77 per cent mistakenly believe everyone automatically has life insurance through their superannuation.

* 85 per cent mistakenly believe life insurance pays you a lump sum payout if you live past retirement age.

* 67 per cent said they believe insurance companies use loopholes to avoid payouts.

The research showed men and women vastly overestimated the cost of life insurance (https://www.lifebroker.com.au/quote/life-insurance) by 49 per cent and 65 per cent respectively, even though premiums for life insurance can be lower than car, home and health insurance. Thirty six per cent directly cited the perceived cost as the major factor in their not having it.

The research revealed a lack of awareness has blinded many people to the financial risks of injury, illness and premature death. Australians stated they were similarly worried by the financial costs of a home burglary or crashing their car, as they were with the financial costs to their family of their premature death or having a medical condition that stopped them working for more than three months.

The Lifebroker life insurance research report 2010 confirmed findings of previous underinsurance reports that show Australians are dangerously underinsured when it comes to life and income insurance, in contrast to rates of car, home and health insurance.

* 21 per cent of Australians have income protection insurance and 49 per cent have life insurance.

* Approximately half the life and income protection insurance policies are held within super where policyholders often accept the default level that in the case of life insurance can be as low as $7000.

* Conversely, 56 per cent of Australians had private health insurance, 80 per cent had some form of home insurance and 86 per cent had some type of car insurance.

“If you look at Australians’ attitudes to insurance in general you see they are quite prepared to buy insurance when they realise a risk exists that is worth protecting,” said Mr Eade.

“When asked only 8 per cent of Australians strongly agreed with the proposition that they were knowingly prepared to take the risk of not having insurance.”

Mr Eade said the research shows the insurance industry has an obligation to raise awareness of the risks of underinsurance, the products available to protect people, the affordability of life and income protection insurance, and that insurers do pay claims when misfortune strikes.

“As a result of these findings lifebroker is developing a new educational tool that will allow us to increase awareness and understanding of insurance and help reduce a problem that is causing so many people additional grief when accidents occur.”

The Lifebroker life insurance research report 2010 was an online survey of 1000 Australians conducted by Sweeney Research and covered all Australian states and territories.

Lifebroker is Australia’s largest specialist broker of life insurance, providing free premium comparisons across all major life insurers.

###

This press release has been reprinted from PRWEB per the terms and conditions of the copyright notice.

| Site Map | Home

New Research Confirms Naivety as a Key Cause of Australia’s Underinsurance Problem
Widespread and profound naivety is contributing to a massive underinsurance problem across Australia, according to new research into life and income protection insurance by lifebroker, launched today.

Total Mortgage Expands Reverse Mortgage Program To Assist Growing Senior Population
Total Mortgage Services, a leading mortgage lender and broker, announced today it is expanding its reverse mortgage lending operation. This Reverse Mortgage Program, along with some of its lowest mortgage rates, will help more senior homeowners.

Mortgage: Effective Household Investment for Financial Autonomy
If finances had a copyright, we would have bought it by now. But it is hardly sold anywhere near the place we live.

Choosing an Insurance Provider
When buying insurance - auto insurance, health insurance, home insurance, life insurance or renters insurance - choosing your insurance provider is a big part of the decision process. When you compare insurance quotes it's easy to see the different prices offered by different insurance providers, but cost alone may not go into your insurance purchase decision. Your insurance provider should help you get the best possible coverage at the best possible price.

Finding The Right Mortgage Company
There are several mortgage companies that offer a rich array of loan products of services. Below is short list of these mortgage companies.

Debt help in UK
Getting into debt is very easy. If an individual misses payments for a couple of months or overspends on certain occasions, he/she ends up in a web of bad debts. However getting out of debt is far more difficult and the process could leave a borrower stressed and anxious about his/her future. But debt help ensures that the debtor is back on his feet and has steered his/her finances away from more trouble.

Debt Elimination: Legal! Lawful! Ethical! Debt Elimination Really Works
You are trying hard to eliminate your loans but keep falling back on your old ways. This constantly leads you back to square one situation and debts seem like they are ever increasing.

What to Do-And What Not to Do-When You Are Contacted by a Debt Collector
Debt collectors prey on consumers who do not know their rights and who do not know how to handle calls from debt collectors This article gives just a few short and simple tips for handling debt collector calls, since these are becoming ever more common as the market for 'junk debt? booms among unscrupulous investors

Rebuild & Keep Good Credit Ratings by Understanding Your Credit Cards
Secured Credit Card is similar to a prepaid credit card since the funds you are using are actually yours and not the issuer of the credit card. Generally people who apply for secured credit card or prepaid credit card are people with poor credit or unemployed.

Debt Consolidation - How To Know If I Am Eligible Or Not?
Debt consolidation is not for everyone, there are some debt situations that should not be solved via a debt consolidation program because the benefits that debt consolidation provides are not applicable to every form of debt. Learn how to find out whether you will be able to take advantage of a debt consolidation program or not. Before contacting a debt consolidation agency you need to make sure that by consolidating your debt you will be improving your financial situation. Otherwise you will need to resort to other forms of credit and debt repair. Since debt consolidation is mainly based on debt negotiation, you have to make sure that the type of debt you have is suitable for this method of debt reduction.

Americas Watchdog Blasts The US Congress for Not Requiring Banks & Mortgage Bankers To Disclose A Huge Mortgage Kickback Called A Yield Spread Premium
As Congress considers mortgage reform, Americas Watchdog and its National Mortgage Complaint Center are demanding that mortgage bankers and banks be required by Congress to disclose a huge mortgage kick back called a "yield spread premium". The problem: the biggest campaign donations to the US House of Representatives and the US Senate Banking Committees, come from banks, mortgage bankers and home builders acting as mortgage lenders. What is a yield spread premium? A yield spread premium is a kick back banks and mortgage bankers get for inflating a consumers interest rate/monthly mortgage payment. Banks and mortgage bankers do not have to disclose these kick backs even though they get them. Mortgage brokers do have to disclose this fee.

Combined Insurance Listens to Consumers, Makes Understanding Insurance Simpler
Leading Supplemental Insurance Provider Stands By its Tag Line, "Let's make this easy," with new web site

Asking The Right Questions To Your Car Insurance Company
Finding a discount for all the services that you'll need on a daily basis is definitely challenging, and when you're looking for low car insurance, you'll want to know all the places that offer affordable insurance with great features. Here are some of the features you should be looking for when it comes to low car insurance in order to help you save money and time.