Warning over lack of insurance cover

Over a third of life assurance policy claims come from people under 55, according to figures from Caledonian Life.

The life assuror warned that many people were not sufficiently insured to look after a family following the unexpected loss of a loved one.

Head of sales and marketing at Caledonian Life, Greg Dyer, said the statistics revealed that people do die in the earlier stages of their lives.

“It’s unsurprising that just under two thirds of claimants (63%) were over 55. However, what should be noted is that a further 37% were 54 and under,” he said.

The life assuror said that the average payout over 2011 and 2012 had been €101,200 and that the average claimant was 61 years old.

Mr Dyer said many people would still have dependent children at this age and the average payment would not be high enough to cover the loss of income associated with the death of the primary earner.

“What would most concern us is the fact that the average payout is actually quite low relative to the incomes of the people and would signal that most people have insufficient cover to meet the future financial needs of their dependants.

“At 58 years of age an increasing number of people in this country still have dependent children living at home,” he said.

Caledonian Life says a lump sum payment of €100,000 would only last for just over two years, for a family with a requirement of a monthly income of €4,000.

So in many instances, the life cover payout is exhausted after this short period of time but the bills will be still there.