Scottish widows has warned that over half (52%) of the UK population is reliant on a single income in order to make ends meet for their family.
The fifth Scottish Widows Protection Report shows that, despite three quarters of the population living in a one or two income household and 84% being aware of income protection, only 5% of the population have taken it out to protect their salary.
When asked about other types of protection, the report revealed 89% of adults do not have critical illness cover and nearly 63% do not have life insurance.
This is despite the report finding that one in six of the population has experienced a critical illness, with nearly half of people who fell ill forced to either change their lifestyle dramatically or make a number of small changes in order to survive financially.
Only 5% of those who fell ill had any kind of protection policy in place to help act as a buffer for this substantial shift in wellbeing.
Katya Maclean, protection expert at Scottish Widows said: "As the current generation of Britons finds it increasingly difficult to get on the property ladder, this has a knock-on effect on our financial priorities and our preparation for our families' future.
With the majority of the UK population not having any protection in place should they be unable to work, it is necessary for the industry to find new ways of engaging customers that are not centred around buying a home.
"These findings indicate that the industry must adapt how we communicate the importance of protection to a new generation, who have different financial priorities to their parents."
Whilst affordability is the main barrier for one in four people in taking out protection, many have simply not taken the need for protection into consideration, with over 41% of people saying they either haven't ‘got round' to taking out protection, or don't feel that it is a priority or a necessity for them.
