How much are you worth?

By Lorna Bourke

LONDON(Citywire) - The average UK adult believes they are worth £350,000 according to research from the Post Office. When asked to put a value on their assets including their home, car, annual salary and all their possessions, respondents came back with an average amount of £350,000.

The Post Office found that many people seem to value themselves in terms of their homes as their biggest asset as there is a direct correlation with house prices and self-valuation. Londoners value themselves at £500,000, with an average house price of £345,000 whereas those in the East Midlands only value themselves at £300,000, with an average property at £142,000.

Adults approaching, or already in, retirement, emerged as the group who valued themselves the most at £500,000. On average people in their sixties valued themselves more than double that of people in their twenties and thirties. This is not surprising since most homeowners in this age group will have paid off a large chunk, if not all, their mortgage. Younger homeowners will still be struggling with a large debt.

‘Regardless of the average UK adult valuing their life at £350,000, which is over double the average life insurance policy, it is worrying that so few people have taken measures to protect themselves' commented Duncan Caesar-Gordon head of protection at the Post Office.

‘Whilst it is encouraging that people can successfully identify the key stages of their life when they should consider life insurance, it is concerning how few people then actually go on to take it out,' he adds.

‘What is interesting is the calculation that people make when working out how much their life is worth. What people need to consider is a lump sum of money that will help their loved ones pay towards something like a mortgage, should the worst happen,' he advises.

Almost 36 million, or 75%, of adults in the UK have no life insurance, which would leave their dependents totally exposed if they die prematurely. Although the cost of life insurance has dropped by 70% over the last 30 years, more than a quarter of adults claim they simply cannot afford it, while over eight million adults feel their lives are not worth insuring at all.

Although single people without dependents don't need to insure their life, they will need cover once they marry and have children. Life assurance is very cheap for the under 30s and premiums are fixed for the life of the policy.