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Statistics & Analyses
back99 percent of Brits would benefit from financial workout
Only 34% of Brits have savings to see them through the next three months. Only half of the population regularly reviews their mortgage. Twenty one per cent of people last renewed their home insurance without shopping around and four per cent don’t have home insurance at all.
These shocking statistics are drawn from a national study of financial fitness, released from Abbey, revealing that a massive 99% of Brits could do with a financial workout. Just one in 100 Brits manage all aspects of their finances well. The research from Abbey looked at the personal finance behaviour of Brits and gave them a score according to the financial products they hold, the competitiveness of these products and how often they shop around for better deals. The products assessed in the study were bank accounts, mortgages, savings, insurance and credit cards. A lower score indicates better management while a higher score means room for improvement.
The average score for the UK population was 43, with women returning an average score of 46 whilst men scored a leaner 41. Women were weighed down by a number of factors:
- 31% have not got their mortgage at a competitive rate.
- 25% have not shopped around for insurance products.
- 70% have either no savings or only enough to maintain their standard of living for less than three months.
Comparative figures for men revealed 26% don’t have a competitive mortgage rate, 17% don’t shop around for insurance and 61% don’t have three months worth of savings.
Steve Shore, Director of Banking, says, “Less than a third of people score less than 30 which suggests that the majority of the population could do with a financial workout. But with so many deals out there, it really needn’t be strenuous! Why not start with your bank account – nearly three-quarters of the population are settling for an interest rates of less than three per cent, yet there are deals out there like Abbey’s that pay eight per cent on in-credit balances.”