BNP Paribas Cardif survey: Dutch are concerned about health and loss of income due to COVID-19 crisis

Insurer BNP Paribas Cardif conducted an extensive survey to measure both the impact of the COVID-19 crisis and personal protection needs. The online survey was conducted by opinion research company Ipsos among 21,000 individuals in 21 countries on three continents (Europe, South America and Asia). The survey contains some questions from a survey in 2019 which was also conducted by Ipsos.

The main worldwide results of the international survey:

• Growing concerns about health and loss of income
• Strongly felt financial impact on living standards because of Covid-19 pandemic
• Greater need for insurance protection, especially against illness, income and
  unemployment

Dutch are concerned about health and loss of income due to COVID-19 crisis

The pandemic has revealed and increased awareness of risks in general. Worldwide, people are increasingly concerned about calamities such as natural disasters and safety. And global concern is growing for unexpected twists and turns in life.

BNP Paribas Cardif’s research shows that the two most important concerns worldwide are health and income. Despite the fact that the Dutch are more optimistic than the rest of the world, we see the same picture here; almost half of the Dutch are worried about serious and/or chronic illness, death and loss of income (47% of the Dutch are worried about each of the topics). Compared to the survey in 2019, the Dutch are more concerned about various health-related risks (increases up to 8%). In addition, over a third of the Dutch see unemployment and serious illness as the biggest risks for not being able to pay the
mortgage.

Major financial consequences

The pandemic has not only exposed new threats, it also had a concrete impact on daily life and the financial ability to make plans. Worldwide, three quarters of the respondents say they have experienced at least one negative financial consequence as a result of the pandemic. The Dutch are also feeling the financial
consequences. 35% of the Dutch have suffered loss of income and 29% have had to postpone or cancel a planned purchase.

“In the space of just two years, the level of concerns has risen very significantly. This unprecedented health crisis has had a major impact on people’s lives,
affecting both their standard of living and their ability to plan for the future. As an insurer we have a special responsibility to bring them support so they can continue to move forward with the projects that are important to them,” says Jean-Bertrand Laroche, BNP Paribas Cardif Deputy Chief Executive Officer, International Markets.

Need for protection

Europeans seem to recognize that they benefit from robust government policies and a protection system. The majority of the Dutch (86%) feel (very) well protected. However, a fifth of the Dutch would like to feel better protected for; serious illness (22%), disability (21%) and loss of income (20%). Almost twice as
much Dutch people who want better protection for depression/psychological complaints comparing with the survey in 2019.

Globally, unemployment ranks third when it comes to areas that people want to better protect themselves for, after illness and accidents. In the Netherlands, 19% want to feel better protected for unemployment. In addition, a fifth of Dutch people (21%) think it will take between three and five years for the unemployment rate to return to its pre-Covid level. Another 9% think it will take more than five years.

“In the market we clearly see that there is a lot of need and demand for solutions to protect against risks such as disability and unemployment. We are
currently working intensively with various partners to generate attention to these risks and to create more and new solutions for them so that we can make
insurance even more accessible.” says Marieke van Zuien, Commercial Director BNP Paribas Cardif Belgium and The Netherlands.

Contact
For more information and interview requests, you can contact:

BNP Paribas Cardif / Lara Basting
Phone: (0162) 486 000 or 06 12 14 96 84
Mail: lara.basting@bnpparibascardif.com
Website: www.bnpparibascardif.nl