The research also revealed that Britain hosts the third largest mortality protection gap in the Continent, behind only Germany and Sweden.
The reinsurer’s European Insurance Report 2010 questioned 11,000 people across 12 countries and found that hundreds of thousands of people across Continental Europe do not have enough life insurance.
According to the study, only 11% of respondents across Europe claim to be “well positioned financially” if they die or suffer a long-term illness or disability.
But its findings unveiling a close link between Brits and their continental cousins, as it mirrored this year’s British survey which showed that the public often over-estimate the level of coverage they have.
Large numbers of respondents also regard savings as the main way to cover death or sickness, although it reveals that more than a quarter (26%) of consumers expect to rely heavily on government benefits in the event of financial misfortune due to death or illness.
Encouragingly, more than 60% of respondents felt comfortable with using an independent financial adviser to buy life insurance, but one in ten say trust in the industry is a barrier to not purchasing the products.
In potential premium terms for life insurers, the amount translated into €25bn per year.
If a single company could penetrate this potential by just 1%, it could boost its annual life insurance premiums by €250m.
The reinsurer added that there is a sizeable untapped potential for life insurance to protect people’s financial needs effectively and affordability in the event of death, illness or disability.
Martin Albers, head of Europe at Swiss Re, believes there is a huge European wide gap in protection.
“It varies by country but there are hundreds of thousands of under-insured people who need the financial protection provided by life insurance,” he said.
“Making even small inroads into this gap can translate into significant opportunities for this industry. We need to be bolder in selling the benefits of insurance – of how lives can be rebuilt after illness or injury, or of how families can be saved from financial hardship through the security of a life policy.
“We also need to highlight the value of life insurance compared with other sources such as savings and government provision, and to show that life insurance is often the most affordable and suitably-responsive solution to people’s financial needs,” he added.
