Spending priorities: what australians are willing to sacrifice if money became tight:

Life insurance ownership through superannuation

Life insurance cover cost expectations

LIFESTAGE PROFILES TotalYoung SINK

Pre- family

Young Family

Older Family

Pre-Retirees

Top 3 stated barriers to income protection % % % % % %

Too expensive 57 49 58 58 59 57

No spare funds 40 36 34 41 45 40

Poor value / waste of money 37 37 43 33 33 37

APATHY TO ACTIONUnderstanding consumer barriers to adequacy in life insurance in Australia

We know Australians are chronically underinsured. We wanted to find out why.

3 in 4 Australians think life insurance is only “death cover”

Life insurance is just as likely to be acquired by default through superannuation than through active purchase

LIFE INSURANCE IS POORLY UNDERSTOOD

MAIN SOURCES OF INFORMATION FOR LIFE INSURANCE

PRODUCTS COST LESS THAN CONSUMERS THINK…

BUT THEY ARE NOT WILLING TO PAY

CONSUMERS KNOW THEY NEED LIFE INSURANCE… BUT THAT’S NOT ENOUGH TO MOTIVATE PURCHASE

AUSTRALIANS NEED TO KNOW MORE

Australians think life insurance is “death cover”

of Australians own or are aware of owning

life insurance

of those with life insurance don’t know how much they are covered for

the underinsurance gap for working

Australians

3 in 4 48% 66% $1.1 trillion

working Australians say they don’t know enough to provide any advice on

life insurance

policy holders don’t know how to identify a

good product

Most working Australians don’t

know how they would decide to choose a life

insurance product

1 in 3

USE ONLINE 44%

USE INSURANCE ORGANISATIONS

38% PURCHASE THROUGH SUPERANNUATION

37%

1 in 10

• Most Australians don’t understand what life insurance coverage is or should be

• Having enough funds to pay the bills and to live comfortably is the top concern for half of Australians

• Visible assets - Cars and houses – are priorities over the things that matter every day but can’t be replaced – your health and your life

• Two thirds of those who own a life insurance product don’t know how much they are covered for

• Recommended coverage for life insurance or disability is 10 x household earnings

• 15 x household earnings is required to maintain current lifestyle

LIFESTAGE PROFILES TotalYoung SINK Pre-family

Young Family

Older Family

Pre-Retirees

Associations with the term ‘life insurance’ % % % % % %

A lump sum payment upon death 75 60 69 77 77 83A lump sum to cover costs of accidental death or specific illnesses e.g. heart attack, cancer 47 46 43 50 48 49

A lump sum upon becoming permanently disabled and being unable to ever work 32 25 36 33 33 31

Payments to cover your income if you can’t work because of illness, injury 27 25 31 29 30 22

Ever thought about the financial impact if… household’s main income earner?There is a disconnect between recognising potential income loss as a financial concern and acting to protect against it.Less than half of Australians own or are aware of owning a life insurance product.

• Australians overestimate the cost of life insurance and underestimate the value

• Consumers think the average insurance premium will cost around $1,500 per year

• They will pay 1/3 to 1/2 of that

• The average cost of Life insurance for a non-smoking Australian male aged 35 is $600 per annum

REASONS WHY CONSUMERS DON’T BUY LIFE INSURANCE AND INCOME PROTECTION TOP 3

Too expensive

1 Waste of money/poor value

2 No spare money

3

What motivates

consumers?

The average cost of Life insurance for a non-smoking Australian male aged 35 is $600 per annum

THE SURVEY

The research was prepared for the Financial Services Council and MetLife by GfK Australia. It is based on a two-phased research program comprising two ‘conflict’ focus groups of consumers and a 15 minute online survey of 1,106 Australians of working age.

LIFESTAGE PROFILES TotalYoung SINK

Pre- family

Young Family

Older Family

Pre-Retirees

n= 453 74 90 108 75 97

Most persuasive messages - life insurance % % % % % %

Government provides a tax incentive if you have it 22 20 20 19 27 24By purchasing it through your Super you're covered without having to take away from your day to day income 16 9 15 17 13 24

A minimum level of insurance is mandatory to avoid extra taxation 14 17 16 12 13 13

Approximately 95% of all life insurance claims are paid by insurers 12 16 12 15 14 6

It ensures your family doesn’t have to worry about income if you die, giving you the freedom to maintain your lifestyle, no matter what happens.

11 11 13 10 12 9

1/3 of women + ¼ of men will suffer cancer… The majority of Australians wouldn’t have enough money to live if they died from cancer.

9 9 10 11 8 6

Government cutbacks on welfare will mean assistance for disability will no longer be available 8 10 9 8 4 10

Insurance is available to ensure you and your family will have enough money if the worst happens; you just need to choose it. 8 10 6 7 9 7