By Clare Yates
4 min read
While this confidence can be positive, possibly reflecting a growing interest in healthy lifestyles, the findings suggest it may be stopping people from putting financial protection in place. As a result, many people may have a gap between how secure they feel and how financially prepared they actually are for illness or injury.
What the research found
Vitality’s research highlights a clear difference in how different age groups view protection and risk:
37% of Gen Z (aged 18–29) say protection insurance is not needed for people under 35.
Only 16% of Baby Boomers (62–80) share this opinion.
44% of 18–34-year-olds say they are not currently worried about serious illness.
Even among over 55s, 28% say they are not concerned about serious illness.
Around 1 in 8 adults (12%) say they could cover essential costs for less than a month if their income stopped.
This rises to nearly 1 in 5 of Gen Z (18%), showing a smaller financial safety buffer among younger adults.
Why this matters
The research highlights a key issue that feeling healthy and financially secure today can sometimes lead people to delay thinking about protection. However, everyday financial commitments such as rent, mortgages and household bills often continue regardless of someone’s health or income.
This creates a risk where people may only realise the importance of financial protection when they are already facing a period without income. It also indicates that optimism about the future can sometimes mean important financial planning gets put off.
How income protection can help
One of the key areas raised by the research is income protection insurance, which provides a regular income if you are unable to work due to illness or injury.
Vitality’s findings show that 18% of Gen Z say they could only cover essential expenses for less than a month if their income stopped. This highlights how quickly financial pressure could build for many younger adults without a safety net.
Income protection can help bridge that gap. It replaces lost earnings so that everyday bills can still be paid while someone focuses on recovery. For many working people, it acts as a financial safety net at a time when savings alone may not last long enough to cover essential costs.
How health insurance can also play a role
The research also has relevance for private health insurance. Vitality found that 44% of 18–34-year-olds say they are not currently worried about serious illness.
But illness can happen to anyone, and getting quick access to diagnosis and treatment through private health insurance may help people recover and return to work more quickly. This can reduce the length of time someone is without an income, which may help ease financial pressure during recovery.
While it does not replace lost earnings, it can support a quicker return to normal life. This may be important for people whose finances are closely linked to their ability to work.
A gap between feeling secure and being prepared
Overall, the research suggests many people feel they would cope financially if something unexpected happened. But the data shows a number of households may not have long-term resilience.
This sits alongside wider analysis from The Health Foundation. This shows that healthy life expectancy (the average number of years a person can expect to live in good health) has fallen below the State Pension age in more than 90% of local areas.
The findings highlight how optimism about the future can sometimes lead to delays in taking out protection, even though financial shocks can happen earlier than expected.
Source:
Vitality research:
itality warns optimism bias is widening the protection gap. IFA Magazine. Accessed 01 June 2026.
