WOMEN WORRY more and men take more financial risks, according to a new life assurance survey.

The research, from Caledonian Life, also suggests that women are more willing to shop around for better value and consider serious illness cover more important than men do despite the fact that they are less likely to need it than men.

When it comes to investing lump sums and buying shares, however, the pendulum swings back toward men.

In December, the company asked just under 200 insurance brokers to assess how couples made financial decisions and to look at who initiated the search for financial protection or investments and who subsequently made the decisions.

“While women are less likely to suffer from a major illness before retirement, they are the drivers behind the decision to take out serious illness protection cover for couples in seven out of 10 situations: whether that’s on both lives or just on one,” the insurance company’s chief executive Grey Dyer said. When it came to decisions on straightforward life cover, the decision making was split 50-50.