Aussies see more value in life insurance in light of COVID, says NobleOak

The number of people planning to renew their life insurance policies has jumped from one in three to 50% of policyholders over the last year.

This insight comes from an industry retrospective looking back over 2020, based on a survey conducted for life insurance provider NobleOak.

As many people who have struggled with financial and personal hardship over the last 18 months might expect, it links increased diligence about life cover to the uncertainty caused by COVID-19. However, it did find cost is still the main deterrent to taking out or renewing life insurance (41%), followed by people not expecting to use it (13%) and not having dependants (10%).

The NobleOak report is based on survey responses from more than 1,000 Australians, with approximately half holding a life or income protection insurance policy. 

In addition to policy renewal, the responses showed Australians are looking for greater reassurance when it comes to their cover. 

This was reflected by the second-highest life insurance priority being fully-underwritten cover (good-value cover retained its number one position, cementing price as a key consideration). Providers being Australian owned also ranked highly among respondents’ priorities, continuing the trend of customers seeking out trusted insurance companies aligned with our country’s industry standards. 

Why do people take out life insurance?

When considering whether or not you need life insurance, factors like having dependents, having debt and other major financial commitments often come into play. NobleOak saw these trends continue when investigating the reasons why people take out life insurance in its report.

It found trigger events like having a baby (38%) or buying a home (30%) continue as key prompts to take out life insurance. 

But at the end of 2020, NobleOak found the leading motivation (80%) for taking out life insurance comes from being confronted with mortality in some way. These triggers included being diagnosed with an illness (34%), getting in an accident (24%), or having a close friend or relative die unexpectedly (22%). 

NobleOak suggests this reactive insurance approach to health-related issues could be leaving many Australians unprepared for emergencies and may be contributing to the overall trend of underinsurance in Australia.

So, if you’re keen to sort out life insurance proactively, check out some of the policy options below.