Research highlights need for income protection insurances

Half of working people could only survive financially for 18 days if their income dried up, new research shows.

The monthly outgoings for a British worker stand at £1712 on average.

One in four workers have no savings and less than a third (30 per cent) have the equivalent of three months salary put aside for emergencies.

Men were more vulnerable than women to a sudden loss of income, according to the survey of 2,000 adults by Combined Insurance.

Men had enough savings to last just 17 days. Women could get by for 19 days.

Nigel Brittle of Combined Insurance said: "The modest amount of savings put aside by millions of Britons shows just how seriously a loss of income could affect us and our families.

"We all need to minimise our potential exposure should we suffer a loss of income."

Income protection insurance is designed to reduce the impact of loss of earnings, but not all Brits think to take it out.

Workers in Wales had the least amount of money put aside, while those in Scotland were the best savers, more than one in two had at least £3000 for financial emergencies

This put most Scots in a position to survive financially for 70 days without an income, nearly two months longer than the rest of the UK.