Three in four Belgians are now prioritising hospitalisation insurance, revealed CBC bank in its annual survey on insurance habits on Monday.
In contrast, life and pension insurance policies are losing popularity, with just 15% and 25% of respondents stating that they are important, respectively. For Pierre Devolder, professor at the Institute of Statistics, Biostatistics and Actuarial Sciences at UCLouvain university, this is "far too low a score" for life and pension insurance, especially compared to countries such as the UK.
"This is certainly a major challenge to be met for the future. Indeed, improving our longevity, in a context of difficulties in our public finances, will require the planning of good long-term retirement savings. Life insurance plays a leading role compared to other financial products," the researcher said.
Home insurance still ranks as the number one most popular insurance policy among Belgians.
While seven in ten Belgians are aware of their insurance coverage, less than four in ten (37%) are worried about it. Moreover, less than half (46%) of the people surveyed have already carried out an inventory of all the insurance policies they have.
Related News
- Lost luggage? Travellers increasingly tracking own bags amid airport chaos
- More and more people are self-employed in Belgium
"It is important to be cautious. We saw it during the floods of 2021 and the bad weather of 2022, with a significant increase in claims declarations. Even if this matter seems to annoy Belgians, it requires vigilance more than ever," explained Patrick Dallemand, director of CBC Insurance.
A survey conducted by CBC last year concluded that up to one third of Belgian residents did not know by which type of insurance they were covered.
In 2022, Belgian insurers made a record €30.5 billion in insurance premiums, according to statistics by Assuralia. Almost half of these premiums (€14.5 billion) were related to general insurance, which accounts for financial losses due to an unforeseen event.
Fire insurance claims were the most frequent. The previously mentioned storms lead to a record number of claims: Assuralia stated that €2 billion in damages were paid to victims of the summer 2021 floods.
