The present conditions of the UK economy, have left many households feeling 'pessimistic' and causing several to think twice about considering whether they should take out payment protection insurance; an aspect of life insurance, which provides a source of finance, for their repayments, in the case of a death or an incident that may stop someone from earning an income.

According to the Association of British Insurers (ABI), 70 per cent of people in Britain would not take out such a policy, to help them with financing the repayments they have, in the present economic state.

Moreover, 90 per cent of Britons feel that, the present condition of the UK economy is worse than it was 12 months ago, with 80 per cent, saying that in a years time, the conditions will worsen.

Nick Kirwan, the ABI's assistant director of health and protection insurance said: "It is worrying that so many people are not prepared to look at taking out protection insurance, even insurance which covers redundancy given the uncertain economic outlook.

He added: "It's clear that we need to work harder to get the message across about the peace of mind and value that having the right protection insurance gives individuals and families. We recently published a consumer fact sheet on protection insurance products. We hope this will encourage more people to consider protecting their most important financial assets - their income and their home."