Australians’ knowledge of financial services, including life insurance, has remained at a consistent level during the five months ending August, according to the latest Suncorp Life Confidence Index.

Across all states in Australia, 44% of those surveyed said they were comfortable with their financial knowledge that included life insurance, superannuation and use of a financial adviser.

The survey found 50% of men had life insurance while only 39% of women had cover.

Overall, Australians’ confidence about their financial wellbeing has fallen since the last survey in April.

The index has dropped from 60.9% in April this year to 59.4% in August.

Suncorp Life CEO Geoff Summerhayes says the results reveal the confidence levels of young families, blue-collar workers, single males and females and empty nesters are “on shaky ground”.

“The factor that had the single biggest influence on financial confidence was that one in four Australians are worried that they will not be able to manage the increasing costs of living,” he said.

The biggest fall in confidence was in WA, with a 2.8% drop. But Queenslanders were the least confident, with a 1.4% fall to 58.1%.

Mr Summerhayes says this could be attributed to the Rudd Government announcing a resources super-profits tax and the subsequent federal election.

“Australians are very good at coping with adversity; we saw this strength of spirit during the darkest days of the global financial crisis,” he said. “But relative to other countries, we are noticing a ‘hangover’ that is affecting financial confidence.”

But Mr Summerhayes says there are many reasons why Australians should feel confident about the economy, with the employment market picking up, a stable economy and a strong banking system.