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Average British household can only cover bills for 14 days
New research from Aviva has shown that the average British household may only have enough cash to cover bills for 14 days if they or their partner fell critically ill or died.
The research shows that without further borrowing, the average British household could get their hands on only £914 of disposable cash; less than two weeks of the average weekly household expenditure of £471.
Should the worst happen, Britons are drastically under-insured with only 37% of households covered by life insurance or critical illness cover. Should they have to raise alternative income, one in five (19%) Britons would be willing to sell their home, while a third (31%) would give up their car.
However, others say they would sell their TV (14%), the home computer (13%) or even their pet (6%) to raise cash.
The majority of Britons (59%) consider it their personal responsibility to cover any loss of income, should the worst happen. However, 17% of Britons see it as the government’s responsibility to cover any income loss due to a critical illness or death, and 9% would expect an employer to fill the gap.
