Younger consumers are often presumed to be more optimistic about their health and financial resilience than older generations, but new research from Vitality suggests this confidence is reinforcing a growing protection gap.
The research found a clear generational divide in how risk is perceived. Almost two fifths of Gen Z respondents aged 18-29 (37%) believe protection insurance is not necessary for people aged 35 and under. By contrast, only 16% of Baby Boomers aged 62-80 share this opinion, suggesting older generations may better understand the benefits of earlier protection.
It is therefore not surprising that perceived health risk also remains low among younger adults. Close to half of those aged 18–34 (44%) say they are not currently worried about experiencing a serious illness. While this optimism is most pronounced among younger generations, it is not confined to them.
More than a quarter (28%) of those aged 55 and over also say developing a serious illness is not something they are currently concerned about, suggesting risk is consistently underestimated across life stages.
When protection decisions are deferred to “later”, important conversations can be delayed until vulnerability has already increased. At the same time, financial commitments and exposure to income disruption can still emerge early in adult life, making earlier engagement critical.
The research also found confidence is often not matched by financial resilience. While many adults believe they could cope if something went wrong, around one in eight respondents (12%) say they could cover essential expenses for less than a month if their income stopped. This rises to nearly one in five (18%) among Gen Z, pointing to a narrow margin for error should illness or injury strike unexpectedly.
These perceptions sit uneasily alongside wider health trends. Recent analysis from The Health Foundation shows that healthy life expectancy in the UK has now fallen below the state pension age of 66 in more than 90% of local areas, and below 55 in more than one in ten. Despite the optimism highlighted above, for many people, periods of poor health are increasingly occurring during working life rather than after retirement.
Andy Philo, Director of Strategic Partnerships at Vitality, said: “Our research highlights just how positively people view their long-term health. While that optimism is encouraging, it can sometimes mean people feel less urgency to check in on their health or think about how they would cope financially if something unexpected happened.
Many common risk factors, such as high blood pressure, often develop without obvious symptoms, so how we feel day to day doesn’t always give the full picture. That can make it easy for important conversations to slip down the priority list.
At Vitality, we believe protection should do more than simply pay out when things go wrong. It should support people throughout their lives by encouraging healthier habits, building financial confidence, and helping them make the most of every stage of life.
Optimism can be a powerful starting point. For advisers, it creates a natural opportunity around key life moments to help clients turn that positive outlook into informed action, whether that’s staying on top of their health or putting the right financial plans in place for the future.”
