Almost half of consumers fear that they or their partner could lose their jobs over the next year, according to research carried out by a leading insurance company.
As the recession bites, almost 70 per cent of consumers say their household income has dropped over the past 12 months, the study by Friends First found.
In response, people are cutting back on their financial protection, the research found, with 13 per cent of respondents saying they had cancelled insurance policies as a result of reduced income.
Of those who had cancelled insurance, the first policies to go were for travel and life insurance, cited by 28 per cent of respondents. One-quarter of those who had cut back cancelled their car insurance and 22 per cent dispensed of their critical illness cover.
Smaller numbers got rid of house insurance (13 per cent) and income protection cover (10 per cent).
The biggest worry for many households were mortgage repayments, cited by 40 per cent of respondents, followed by household bills (18 per cent) and family expenses (10 per cent).
According to the research, 78 per cent of consumers have car insurance, 63 per cent have health insurance, 56 per cent have house insurance and 10 per cent have no insurance cover.