Just 45% women in Ireland have any form of financial cover to support themselves in times of financial difficulty, according to research conducted by Irish Life.
This worrying statistic puts them well behind their male counterparts in this regard: 63% of men have protection like insurance, income protection or specified illness cover.
Furthermore, only one-third of life insurance claims that Irish Life paid out last year were to women. The survey also found that just 45% of specified illness claims were paid to women, compared to 53% to men.
Women are also claiming life insurance payments and specified illness payments earlier than men: the average age for female life claims was 64 compared to 67 for male claims.
For specified illness claims, the average age for female claimants was just 51 while it was 55 for men.
Martin Duffy, Head of Underwriting & Protection Claims, Irish Life Retail, said: “It’s a worry that the study found that less than half of women in Ireland have some form of life insurance, serious illness cover or income protection, compared to almost 2 in every 3 men. And unfortunately, this lack of financial protection among women in particular is also reflected in our 2017 claims data where women made up just 38% of our Life Insurance claims.”
If you think you’re part of the majority of women who are under-covered when it comes to financial protection, get in touch with us today. Our dedicated team of financial experts will be glad to help.
Best wishes,
The Team at Gallivan Financial