Only 23% of unmarried couples who jointly own or plan to jointly own a property would rely on their partner’s life insurance to cover their partner’s financial commitments should they pass away or become terminally ill, according to new analysis from Santander Insurance.

The bank says unmarried co-habiting couples are less likely to have life insurance, and is warning that the product is just as important for those who are unmarried as those who are.

There was a 28% increase in the number of unmarried opposite sex co-habiting couple families between 2003 and 2013, 41% of which had dependent children living with them. Over the same time period there was a 68% increase in the number of same sex co-habiting couple families, 6% of which had dependent children under their roof.

The findings reveal that finances are a major factor behind many co-habiting couples not being married. 24% say they can’t afford to get married and 7% live together to save money on housing costs.

Nearly one in five unmarried co-habiting couples (18%) says neither of them wants to get married, and 10% say one of them doesn’t want to. 14% say they are ready to live together but not yet ready to marry, and 9% say they are living together to find out if they are compatible before they get married.

Of those unmarried couples who jointly own or plan to jointly own a property, 23% would rely on life assurance if their partner passed away or became terminally ill, while one in four (24%) would sell their joint property, 8% would rely on help from family and friends and one in 20 (five%) would risk repossession. Another 15% say they don’t know what they would do.

Mark Russell, head of marketing at Santander Insurance, said: “Modern families come in all shapes and sizes nowadays and there has been a significant increase in the number of unmarried family units. However, unmarried couples tend to consider life insurance less than married couples, so we want to make sure this audience is aware of the importance of financially protecting themselves for the eventuality that their other half passes away or becomes unable to contribute.

“A good number of these family units include dependent children, which makes it all the more important that life and critical illness cover are in place.”