AXA Research highlights UK consumers are - Log in Friends Life s

							News Release
AXA Protection
                                                                             PR Department
                                                                             AXA Centre
                                                                             Brierley Furlong
                                                                             Bristol
                                                                             BS34 8SW
                                                                             Tel: 0117 989 51




AXA RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS UK CONSUMERS ARE
UNPREPARED FOR THE FUTURE

As the Credit Crunch bites, over two-thirds of the UK population admit to being
underprepared when it comes to future financial protection.


A recent survey by AXA 1 suggests the UK population is unprepared when it comes to
savings and financial cover should they face long-term illness, death or loss of
income, with almost half the population (45%) admitting to having purchased no form
of protection cover.


Only a third of the UK population believe they have the financial provisions in place to
cover their mortgage, should the worst happen with almost half the population (49%)
having less than £1000 in current savings and investments, leaving them at risk of
serious financial shortfalls.


Despite a significant awareness of future costs that need to be covered, including
funeral costs (62%), children’s education (42%) and caring for parents (40%), almost
three-quarters (72%) of the population save less than £100 a month with half of these
(35%) saving nothing for the longer term.




1
 The research was completed by Onepoll on behalf of AXA Life. Total sample size was 3,000 adults.
Fieldwork was undertaken in February 2009. The survey was carried out online.
The research also shows that in today’s uncertain times, people are less likely to take
out protection products such as Life Insurance (just 7%), Critical Illness (5%) and
Income Protection (10%) when left to their own devices, with only a minority
understanding what products like these actually cover you for.


Graham Harvey, Managing Director of Protection at AXA, says: “For financial
professionals this research probably reinforces what they are seeing and hearing on
a day to day basis – but nevertheless it is alarming to see such under-provision and
lack of understanding. On top of this we know from recent research 2 that people are
turning away from professional advice when it comes to money management, which
can only exacerbate the situation.


“Clearly as an industry we need to think about how to tackle these issues and find
better ways to promote the benefits of these products to consumers. AXA is
determined to lead the way in offering solutions to both intermediaries and
consumers that can reverse this trend.”


Other key research findings include:


    •   Only a third of the UK population have personally purchased Life Insurance,
        25% have personal pensions and just 16% personally purchasing Critical
        Illness cover. In comparison, just 17% receive Life Insurance through their
        employer, 13% have company pensions and 7% Critical Illness cover.
    •   While men generally have more in savings and financial provisions, it is the
        women who are more likely to be have protection products in place to support
        themselves and their families (with 65% compared to 47% of men having life
        insurance cover for their mortgage and similar figures for other cover
        products)
    •   Those with more dependants are the least likely to have adequate financial
        cover in place should they die or be faced with a critical illness with just one in



2
 Research completed by OnePoll on behalf of AXA. Total sample size was 2,000 UK adults. Fieldwork
was undertaken in January 2009. The survey was carried out online.
        five (21%) of those with five or more dependants feeling they are adequately
        covered compared to 49% of those with just two dependants
    •   Those in London and the East Midlands are the most likely to have adequate
        financial cover in place while those in Northern Ireland are the most at risk
        with 41% of Londoners covered compared to just one in ten of those is
        Northern Ireland (11%)
    •   Those on lower incomes are not only the least likely to have purchased
        protection cover, but are also the least likely to be offered any form of
        protection benefits from their employer.




- Ends -


Enquiries

Helene Barnes                    AXA Life press office            +44 (0)117 989 5161



About AXA Protection


The AXA Protection Account was launched in 2004 and products include Life Cover, Critical
Illness Cover, Income Protection Cover, Life or Earlier Critical Illness Cover, Mortgage
Income Protection Cover, Accident Sickness & Unemployment Cover and Business Cover:
Keyperson Protection, Shareholder Protection and Partnership Protection.

AXA Protection accepts over 75% of lives at normal rates and declines less than 2.5% of
lives. AXA Protection was the first UK insurer to launch full tele-underwriting nationwide and
2007 statistics show just 1.23% non-disclosure for tele-underwritten applications.

In 2008 Defaqto awarded AXA 5 Stars for its Level and Decreasing Critical Illness, Stand
Alone Critical Illness and Income Protection products. AXA Protection also won Most
Improved Provider, Best New Initiative, Best Underwriting Team, Best Individual Impact –
Naomi Greatorex, TCF Award and Best Overall Provider at the LifeSearch Awards 2008.


About AXA

AXA UK is a part of the AXA Group. AXA Group is a worldwide leader in Financial Protection.
AXA's operations are diverse geographically, with major operations in Europe, North America
and the Asia/Pacific area. IFRS revenues amounted to €91 billion for the full year 2008.
The AXA ordinary share is listed on Compartment A of Euronext Paris under the ticker symbol
CS (ISIN FR0000120628 - Bloomberg: CS FP - Reuters: AXAF.PA). The American
Depository Share is also listed on the NYSE under the ticker symbol AXA.
Our previous company performance is not a guide to how we may perform in the future.