Research confirms value of advice, insurance

Asteron Life has produced new research which it claims validates the value of Australians receiving financial advice and taking out insurance cover, with the bottom line being that most people value financial security above other factors in their life.

The overriding conclusion of the research, released by Asteron Life chief executive Jordan Hawke, is that Australians highly value the ability to pay their bills without borrowing money and men in particular worry about not being financially secure.

The research report, titled ‘Cash versus Love', found 90 per cent of Australians feel ‘insecure', ‘inadequate' and/or ‘distressed' when it comes to borrowing money to pay for bills; 95 per cent of people would feel ‘confident', ‘proud' and/or ‘secure' knowing they would never have to borrow money; and more men are losing sleep due to not being financially secure, while women sit up at night thinking about rising interest rates.

Commenting on the research findings, Hawke said the findings proved how important financial security is to Australians living confidently.

"The ability to earn an income is our biggest source of confidence, yet many Australians don't know they can protect their income with insurance," he said, pointing out that the report had found that of the 20 things keeping Australians awake at night, one third could be addressed through financial advice or having income protection.