Almost three in 10 (28%) young UK adults with a mortgage do not have life cover, the latest data from Beagle Street reveals.

The research, which is from a survey of 2,000 UK adults, shows that nearly 1.7m UK homeowners aged between 18 and 40 have mortgages without life insurance.

It suggests that in 2023, there was more than £433bn of mortgage debt not covered by life insurance in Britain, which represents the combined value of home loan debt that would be owed if an expected death were to happen.

Of those who have a mortgage but no life insurance, a quarter (23%) say it’s because they don’t currently see it as a priority expense, a fifth (22%) have just never thought about it and the same proportion (22%) say the cost-of-living crisis means they don’t have enough money to pay for it.

Slightly less (19%) report that they simply can’t afford it.

When looking to buy life cover, the most common resource those with a mortgage used was speaking to a financial adviser (44%) while only 16% went directly to a provider.

Beagle Street director of protection Ryan Griffin says: “It’s really important for people to put plans in place and protect themselves and their families if the worst were to happen. We understand life insurance might not be something people want to think about, but it really can make a huge difference to those who need it.”