In the present economies climate, pressure is being put on the critical illness sector, which has seen a downturn in the number of customers applying for the insurance policy, according to the financial firm, Defaqto.

Critical illness, which is a form of life insurance, provides the policy holder with financial assistance, in the event of them being diagnosed with a medical condition that could stop them from working or earning a wage, has been severely hit, as more people are being increasing stringent with their financial expenditures.

Research from the Defaqto survey, which was commissioned by YouGov, showed that despite the fact that only 15 per cent, of people in Britain feel that they could “get by” without “financial difficulty” if they were faced with a sudden change in their life circumstances. The number of critical illness policies being taken out is dwindling. Also a further 30 per cent stated that they would “constantly struggle” if they had a long-tem illness.

Commenting on the results Steve Gazzard, Operations Director at The Institute of Financial Planning, said: "It does appear that over three quarters of dependents would continue to struggle in the case of long term illness or incapacity."

Ben Heffer, a consultant at Defaqto, added: "The YouGov research underlines what many in the industry already know, that protection has to be sold. Providers must be prepared to devote more marketing effort to protection…and advisers must seek out potential clients to convince them of their need for protection products."