San Diego - 2nd most protected city

SAN DIEGO - San Diego is the second most protected city in the nation when it comes to life insurance coverage, according to an Allstate survey released Tuesday, which ranked the 25 most populated U.S. cities.



Atlanta ranked first, with nearly eight in 10 people having some form of life insurance, according to the survey. Los Angeles ranked last, with nearly 40 percent of respondents lacking any life insurance coverage.



"We believe this survey will help us delve into the potential inadequacies of American's life insurance coverage," said Casey Sylla, president of Allstate Financial.



"It's important for Americans to have enough life insurance so that they, and their loved ones, can be on the path to a solid financial future."



The survey found that 73 percent of San Diego residents have some form of life insurance, but only about 52 percent own an individual policy. The average coverage of San Diego residents amounts to 5.4 times their annual household income.



"While I commend San Diego area residents for having above average coverage compared to other U.S. cities surveyed, overall, residents, on average, are still not getting enough life insurance coverage for their needs," said JoAnn Little, a financial services specialist for Allstate in the San Diego area.



Nationally, the survey found that 74 percent of respondents have some form of life insurance.



Fifty-four percent of those surveyed have group life insurance through their employer, and 53 percent own at least one individual life insurance policy.



Of all survey respondents, 29 percent said they review their life insurance coverage on a yearly basis. Thirty-seven percent said they never review their coverage.



People in the Midwest scored the highest on the survey, with 80 percent of respondents having some form of life insurance, and nearly 60 percent having at least one individual life insurance policy in their household.



However, those in the Midwest carry the lowest amount of overall life insurance coverage, according to the survey.



Those in the western part of the country carry the highest amount of individual life insurance, with an average policy amount reported at $258,000.



Respondents ranked first full-time jobs, having adopted a child and getting married as the most important times to purchase life insurance. Only eight percent of those surveyed said that purchasing a home is the most important time to buy life insurance.



The survey, administered by LIMRA International, looked at the type of life insurance policies people own, how many members of a household own an individual life insurance policy and the amount of individual life insurance coverage.