Survey shows age group are most likely to rank life insurance as ‘important’.

Picture the scene; a smartly dressed, sensible saver, approaching retirement whilst reading the paper – sits across from a tech-savvy, TV-watching, Emoji-using Millennial who is clicking away on their smartphone.

Which of these two typecasts would you assume places the most importance on life insurance products?

A recent survey has revealed that it’s the last-wave boomers that are least impressed with life cover, finding that those aged 55-64 are most likely to believe life insurance is unimportant - with one in four thinking so.

Within this age group, 69% believed life cover was ‘important’, with just over half (51%) holding a policy. Across all age groups, over three-quarters (76%) of adults thought of life insurance products as important, with 55% holding a policy.

Defying their nonchalant stereotype, Millennials (18-24 year olds) are the most likely to believe life insurance is important. A commendable 80% said that yes, it was important, despite this age group being the least likely to have cover in place.

Dean Jones, managing director of SoSmart Money said: "Despite people knowing how important life insurance is, many people still don't have it. Nobody really likes to think about passing on, but unforeseen events do happen and you have to be ready for such an eventuality.

"You need to know that your loved ones will be taken care of if something unfortunate should happen to you, so that any financial burdens such as debt won't affect them too much.

"While we were surprised to hear that just over half of people aged 60+ had life insurance, we are finding that over-55s are increasingly looking for over-55 life insurance or funeral plans to cover the costs for when they pass on."