37% of people recently surveyed by Zurich have home contents insurance, but no life assurance.

The new research, part of Zurich’s ‘Big Decisions’ study looking at decision-making habits in the UK, also found that 38% actually have life insurance.

Of those surveyed, 73% have home contents insurance and 67% have comprehensive car insurance.

Meanwhile, 58% have building insurance, 38% of people have life assurance, while 33% of people have travel insurance.

This is despite the fact that life cover is perceived to be the most important type of insurance (23%) when compared to building, car, travel and home contents cover.

Zurich also found that 20% think that comprehensive car insurance is the next important insurance priority and only 16% consider building insurance to be a must-have.

“Although more people thought that life cover should be the highest priority in terms of having insurance, it only ranks fourth in the cover that people actually buy,” said Phil Brown, Zurich’s head of protection and underwriting.

“Without life insurance, the devastation felt when a loved one dies can closely be followed by financial devastation when the family are unable to afford to live their current lifestyle. For many, selling a family home soon after the death of spouse is a harsh reality.”

Regionally, 33% of Welsh people thought that having life insurance should be top of their priority lists, closely followed by those living in Scotland at 30%. Only 16% of Londoners thought that life cover was a top priority for them.

When buying insurance, 53% decide to shop around to find the best cover, 45% say they shop around for the cheapest cover and 16% always go for a brand they trust.