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Consumers feel they are faced with a double-edged sword as many claim they cannot afford life insurance.

But without financial protection in place they could face financial devastation if the worst happens, warned Louise Colley, head of protection marketing at Aviva.

Overall, the Aviva report painted a picture of UK families who are surviving but are in debt, apprehensive about additional costs and unwilling or unable to put aside money for the future.

The report showed that on average 61 per cent of families confessed they do not have basic life insurance, with 87 per cent saying they are without critical illness cover and 89 per cent do not have income protection. Just seven per cent of UK families felt completely financially protected.

Some 57 per cent were concerned about inflationary pressures on everyday living costs and 39 per cent said they were too financially stretched to take on any additional financial obligations.

Ms Colley said: ""Families need to think what would happen to the family if the worst happened? Many families have debts, such as a mortgage, so they need financial protection the most. But they are not taking action as they claim it's unaffordable.

"There will be far less impact on the family if something happens if they have life insurance in place. No one is immortal and people need to plan for this."

This week Aviva launched a national TV advertising campaign to highlight the importance of taking out life insurance.

Ms Colley said: "Aviva offers life insurance for as little as £5 a month and we have launched an advert promoting this.

"Life insurance is there to protect the family and people need to step back and realise this. People need to overcome their barriers to life insurance - it is not confusing and it is affordable."