Half of co-habitating Britons do not have any life insurance and many could not afford a funeral if their partner or spouse died, new research has found.
It also revealed two thirds (66%) do not have a will and that despite not financially planning for the worst many have joint commitments together such as mortgages.
The survey of 2000 married or co-habiting adults in the UK was carried out by Onepoll on behalf of Confused.com and found that 50% of people living with their partner do not have life insurance.
More than a quarter (28%) said they could not afford a funeral if their partner or spouse died, with 33% turning to family for financial help, 19% taking out a loan and 20% putting it on a credit card.
One in ten (9%) said they would opt for a pauper's grave.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the number of people who do have wills rises with age as 66% of over 55s have one, compared to just 24% of 18- to 24-year-olds.
However, almost half (47%) of over 55s who are co-habiting or married do not have life insurance.
And despite not having financial plans laid for the future, 65% of couples have mortgages, 45% of which are in joint names.
Matthew Lloyd, head of life insurance at Confused.com, said: "Having a will is a sensible step towards providing for the future but if you don't have life insurance too then your partner may find themselves facing money worries as well as grief should the worst happen.
"There seems to be a myth that unmarried partners are automatically protected but this is not the case.
"If one partner in a couple dies but you were not married or registered civil partners then you won't automatically get a share of your partner's estate if they don't have a will," he added.
