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More than half of people in the UK do not have life insurance and almost one-third have no savings at all, according to Norwich Union research.

Nearly 50 per cent of the 2500 people surveyed claimed they would either not know how to deal with a sudden bill of £1000 or they would have to borrow.

But according to government figures 29 per cent of UK householders have partners, young children or both to care for and about 75 per cent have mortgages to cover.

Almost 65 per cent also said they were not in the career they had wanted as children, while 49 per cent were not earning as much as they had expected to as children by their ages.

A Norwich Union spokesman, said: "It is concerning that even though most people have seen their lives unfold in an unforseen way, not enough individuals are planning for the unexpected.

"In fact, when asked if they were faced with a bill of £1000 out of the blue, 45 per cent said they either would not know what to do or have to rely on borrowing, which suggests larger financial figures could pose quite a problem.

"Even though deep down most of us know that carefully laid plans can go astray, only 16 per cent of the people questioned said they actually make a point of planning for the unexpected.

"We may not want to think about the unexpected but it can be comforting to know that, if the worst happens, our loved ones don't need to worry."