Life Insurance Search

New research from the Post Office shows that most UK adults value their lives at £350,000. But while this figure represents the average self-valuation, the average life insurance policy will only pay out around half of this.

Most people calculated this average by considering the value of their assets, including their homes, as well as their salaries. Bearing in mind the fact that the home is usually a person’s main asset, it is not surprising that Londoners, where property prices are highest, placed a higher valuation on themselves than those in other areas. Londoners thought themselves worth an average of £500,000, which was significantly more than for those in the East Midlands, who said they were worth £300,000.

And since most older people will generally have to pay more for level term life insurance cover than younger members of society, it is not surprising that they gave themselves a higher self-valuation than other age groups, with retirees valuing themselves at an average of £500,000.

Duncan, Caesar-Gordon, Post Office’s head of protection, commented, “Regardless of the average UK adult valuing their life at £350,000, which is over double the average life insurance policy, it is worrying that so few people have taken measures to protect themselves' commented Duncan Caesar-Gordon head of protection at the Post Office.

“Whilst it is encouraging that people can successfully identify the key stages of their life when they should consider life insurance, it is concerning how few people then actually go on to take it out.

“What is interesting is the calculation that people make when working out how much their life is worth. What people need to consider is a lump sum of money that will help their loved ones pay towards something like a mortgage, should the worst happen.”