SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 10, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Thirty-nine percent of U.S. adults do not have life insurance, according to new survey results released today by [ InsuranceQuotes.com ], a Bankrate (NYSE: [ RATE ]) company. And many of the 61% who do have life insurance appear to be underinsured and not as knowledgeable as they should be about their policies. These results, announced in conjunction with Life Insurance Awareness Month, suggest that a substantial number of Americans are inadequately prepared for critically important end-of-life issues.

The survey was conducted online by Harris Interactive among more than 2,000 U.S. adults.

Among those who lack life insurance, the most common explanation (45%) was "it costs too much." However, InsuranceQuotes.com found that more than two-thirds (68%) of the adults who have purchased life insurance policies on their own are paying under $100 per month and almost half (46%) are paying under $50 per month, so life insurance may be more affordable than many people fear.

The InsuranceQuotes.com research indicates that even those who already have life insurance could benefit from shopping around. Almost seven in 10 (68%) of those with life insurance reported that they have never changed life insurance providers and 64% said that they have held their current policy for more than five years. "Plenty of people who haven't compared prices in a while could potentially save money and get a better policy with just a little bit of effort, since many different insurers are aggressively competing for customers," said John Egan of InsuranceQuotes.com.

The most common level of coverage reported by those who have life insurance was between $25,001 and $100,000 (34%). Seventy-three percent of those with life insurance reported $250,000 or less in coverage.

Thirty percent of those with life insurance have a term life policy, 30% have a whole life policy and another 30% are "not at all sure." Egan said the type of coverage to purchase depends on individual circumstances, "but it's alarming that almost one in three of those who have life insurance can't answer such a basic question about their coverage."

The full survey results are available at [ www.insurancequotes.com/americans-life-insurance ].

Consumers can compare quotes for life insurance and other types of insurance policies at [ www.InsuranceQuotes.com ].

Survey methodology

This survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Interactive on behalf of InsuranceQuotes.com from August 15-17, 2012, among 2,192 adults age 18 and older, 1,357 of whom currently have life insurance coverage. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and, therefore, no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables, please contact [ john.egan@bankrate.com ].

About InsuranceQuotes.com:
InsuranceQuotes.com provides consumers with a free, easy way to shop for and compare insurance quotes online, and delivers information about auto, home, health and life insurance and other types of insurance.

For more information, visit [ InsuranceQuotes.com ].

InsuranceQuotes.com is part of Bankrate Insurance. Other Bankrate Insurance companies include NetQuote.com and InsureMe.com.

For More Information:

Ted Rossman
Public Relations Manager, Bankrate, Inc.
[ ted.rossman@bankrate.com ]
917-368-8635

SOURCE InsuranceQuotes.com

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Roughly Four in 10 U.S. Adults Lack Life Insurance Coverage, According to InsuranceQuotes.com Survey

Roughly Four in 10 U.S. Adults Lack Life Insurance Coverage, According to InsuranceQuotes.com Survey