UK consumers are spending almost 30% of their personal wealth on insurance, according to a report fr...
UK consumers are spending almost 30% of their personal wealth on insurance, according to a report from the Association of British Insurers (ABI).
The ABI report, called The contribution of insurance to the UK economy, also shows that the UK has the highest per capita expenditure on insurance products in the European Union, including an average of £730 a year on life and health insurance and pensions.
The ABI also quoted Office for National Statistics figures showing that between 1987 and 1998 the total amount of personal wealth invested in insurance products grew from £280bn in 1987 to £760bn in 1998, an increase in real terms of over 170%.
The UK insurance market accounts for 8% of the total worldwide premium income, making it the largest in Europe and the third largest in the world.
However, the ABI said direct comparisons with other countries can be misleading because the level of expenditure on insurance is related to the role of the State in providing welfare, which varies significantly between countries.
In the UK, for example, the high level of per capita expenditure on life and pension products is partly due to a reliance on private pension schemes. The UK also has the fourth highest insurance premiums in the world, equivalent to 12.1% of GDP in 1998, meaning that consumers in the UK are paying more money for less cover.
Malcolm Tarling, spokesperson for the ABI, said that consumers in the UK are still not adequately covered by insurance products.
He said: "One in four households do not have contents insurance and only 10% of the population have some form of health insurance."
The ABI is launching a new accreditation scheme and quality mark project in October this year, part of its Savings and Long Term Risk (SALTR) project that it hopes will improve the way insurance products are designed and sold.
It is also looking for SALTR to simplify the buying and claims process and it hopes that this will encourage a greater take-up of insurance products.
