New Zealanders are shunning life insurance because they think it is too expensive and too hard to get, research by Cigna Insurance has found.

Half of those surveyed said they either did not have insurance at all or didn’t have enough. 

Women aged 18 to 34 and married men over 45 with no dependents were the least insured, and many married men aged 34 to 45 with dependents and earning mid-to-high incomes admitted they were probably underinsured.

Cigna NZ CEO Gail Costa says the research shows that life insurance is a grudge purchase and provokes little interest or desire, “but it also showed that people knew they should have it”.

Ms Costa told insuranceNEWS.com.au that a survey conducted for AMP in 2006 found 67% of New Zealanders had no life insurance, which she attributes to a “she’ll be right” attitude.

New Zealand’s Investment Savings and Insurance Association recorded total life insurance inforce premiums of $NZ1.783 billion ($1.31 billion) in the quarter to December 31, 2010 but noted growth in term life was practically flat.

“What the research really showed us is that people are looking for certainty and ease,” Ms Costa said. “They generally agree that life insurance is necessary and want to get it, but they neither understand nor trust what they’ve been offered in the past.”