Treating death as taboo is leaving many Londoners poorly prepared, and capital dwellers are more likely to think they don’t want or need a will
Londoners' taboos about mortality have left them inadequately prepared for the financial impact of death.
According to a report released today by Aviva, six out of ten of London adults said that they felt death was still a taboo subject and just less than half (49 per cent) said that they do not want to talk or think about death because they would prefer to just enjoy their life.
Almost a quarter (24 per cent) of Londoners feel uncomfortable discussing funeral arrangements with their wider family, while 17 per cent felt the same about life-changing illnesses.
However, this attitude could be responsible for capital dwellers being less likely to have a will in place. Over half (59 per cent) of London adults feel they should have a will but have not yet arranged one, compared to 55 per cent of adults on average across the UK as a whole.
Almost one in five (17 per cent) London adults believes they will not ever need or want a will, compared to just 14 per cent nationwide.
Meanwhile, 53 per cent of London adults feel that they should make a list of their financial arrangements to help their family sort their affairs but have not done so.