More than half of UK consumers (54%) have no life insurance cover, research from life and pensions company Friends Provident has shown.

According to the results of Friends Provident’s Protection Survey, 6% of people are prepared to accept only free life cover in exchange for their mobile phone, with more than 27% saying that they would opt to buy life insurance cover if they had £5 per month to spend on insurance.

For the 46% who do have life insurance, 69% take professional advice from a financial adviser when buying cover, or conduct their own research using the internet or newspapers.

Mark Jones, protection products and actuarial manager at Friends Provident, said: “Life insurance is the most basic form of protection you can get – and it plays such an important role in providing for your family and loved ones, very often at a time of absolute need.

“Understandably, none of us really want to think about our own mortality, but we do owe it our families to ensure that we have made provision – be it to pay off the mortgage or provide a lump cash sum. Let’s hope in a year’s time, these figures for those with life insurance show a big increase.”