We’re a nation of pet lovers alright! A new survey shows that we’re more likely to insure our pets than protect our income or our health, or to future-plan against critical conditions!

Research by legal services provider Epoq* reveals that nearly a third - 32% - of Brits have pet insurance, compared to a quarter with some form of income protection. In addition, 31% have critical illness cover, 31% have private medical insurance, 30% of us insure our phones and gadgets and 25% have dental cover. The figures are even more surprising as, whilst all those surveyed had an income, not all had a pet, leading to a worrying ranking of priorities when it comes to safeguarding against life’s unexpected turns.

The majority of those with pet insurance - 23% out of the 32% - have paid for the pet insurance themselves, whilst the remaining pet owners receive it as an employee benefit. In comparison, 14% out of the 25% with income protection pay their own premiums, with it being an employee perk for the rest. In other words, 23% of all those surveyed chose to pay for pet insurance, compared to 14% who chose to buy an income protection policy themselves.

The survey also revealed that, despite 87% of respondents saying in last year’s survey that they valued legal advice as an employee benefit, only 15% of respondents this year say they receive that benefit. In addition, just 12% say they have access to legal documents, such as wills, through their employer.

Epoq commercial director Andrew Walker said: “While medical and life insurance were understandably the most common forms of employer paid insurance, there may be room to add extra value to the type of employee benefits on offer. For example, last year’s Epoq research found that just over two-fifths of respondents (41%) have a will. This suggests there are lots of people of working age who need to create important legal documents like wills but aren’t doing so, possibly due to a lack of advice, awareness or simply a lack of convenient access to the right services.

“Clearly there’s a need here, and if employers were to provide a wills service as a benefit, it stands to reason that more people would more likely choose to make one and so protect their interests and those of their loved ones.”

Income protection is generally considered to be one of the most important forms of insurance for employees, as it replaces your income if you can no longer work due to an accident or illness. It can also protect you financially against the risk of involuntary redundancy.

ActiveQuote specialises in finding customers the right income protection at the right price, as well as providing health insurance, life insurance and critical illness cover. Call our team on 0800 862 3733 or compare insurance quotes online.

* The research was conducted by Opinium in June 2018 among 1,234 employees from across the UK.