It commissioned research asking why people took out life insurance.

Almost 40% said they had made the decision that they needed cover unprompted. A third had heard of a family member or friend being saved from financial hardship by their insurance.

The second most common reason for insurance was because it was part of their superannuation package (32%), followed by being prompted by family members (22%) and financial advisers (19%).

TAL Group CEO Jim Minto said: “The very high level of unprompted actions being taken by people (39%) is a surprise when so often people talk about low interest or engagement in life insurance. The results also show that stories of how life cover has protected someone they know from financial hardship due to illness or accident can be a real motivator in ensuring they themselves obtain cover.”

People aged under 25 were far more likely to independently have decided they needed insurance, the survey showed. Almost half of them had made the decision unprompted.

“These results reveal that more of our youngest adults are ‘making their own decision’ to take out life insurance at a higher rate than older generations, which shows they are more engaged in their financial affairs than they have been given credit for in the past,” Minto said.

“Younger generations are using technology to take matters into their own hands to seek out services and products to meet their needs, and it appears that their own research is them into seeking out financial products and advice.”