Around 43 per cent of mortgage holders do not have life cover to protect their mortgage, according to new research from Sainsburys life insurance .
The findings suggest that there are over 7.1 million people with a collective outstanding mortgage balance of £318 billion who have no life insurance to cover this. This represents a 47 per cent increase in mortgages not covered by life insurance since 2006.
The supermarket bank fears the recession could have a part to play in these figures as many people are inclined to put less importance on life insurance and worry more about the here and now rather than the unthinkable. Sainsbury's warns if these people were to die, their loved ones may not be able to afford to pay the mortgage repayments and ultimately, in some cases, may not be able to carry on living in their home .
Lucy Hunter, life insurance manager at Sainsbury's, said: "Life insurance provides financial cover should the unthinkable happen, enabling people to be secure in the knowledge that their dependants could receive a cash lump sum if they were to die."




