New Study: Americans Say Recession, Declining Stocks and Soft Home Values Less Financially Disastrous Than Death of Spouse

While current headlines and political rhetoric focus on the public's fears of broad financial challenges such as economic recession and Social Security going broke, Americans in every demographic group say that their death or the death of their spouse would be a much greater threat to their family's future financial situation, according to a new survey from ING (NYSE: ING), one of the nation's leading financial services and life insurance companies.

"The new survey further clarifies the savings and wealth protection needs of Americans. The insight into consumers' perceptions about their financial future and the wide-ranging reasons for saving money and having adequate life insurance may even seem contrary to popular assumptions about people and their money," said Catherine Smith, CEO, ING U.S. Insurance. The wide-ranging survey by Ipsos Public Affairs of more than 1,000 adults revealed American's contemporary attitudes and thinking on protecting their financial future and on life insurance, traditionally part of working people's financial plan.

The survey demonstrates the central role life insurance plays in a comprehensive financial plan, including the important role of wealth protection. Financial planning experts say that inadequate life insurance can be swiftly disastrous to families that don't properly anticipate and assess the impact death of a spouse or partner can have on short- and long-term finances.

"As Baby Boomers' financial needs have evolved, we see the heightened importance of risk protection combined with wealth creation," Smith said. "Insurance products can help provide an important protective wrapper around retirement savings. This insurance wrapper effectively manages a diversity of risks and allows consumers to enter their retirement years with more confidence. Bottom line -- life insurance has become the forgotten foundation of a long-term, comprehensive financial plan."

  Among the most interesting findings of the survey:

  -- The top scenario Americans say would most negatively impact their
     financial future is having their savings stolen because of fraud/theft
     (77% say it would have an extremely or very negative impact).  The
     second scenario Americans believe would most negatively impact their
     family's financial future is their death or the death of their spouse
     or partner (67%).
  -- Of 15 events or scenarios listed, falling home prices, a stock market
     crash, Social Security becoming insolvent, an economic recession, a pay
     cut and higher interest rates on loans and mortgages were all cited as
     having less of a negative impact on their family's financial future
     than their death or the death of their spouse or partner.
  -- Despite life insurance's low profile compared to prevailing popular
     focus on wealth accumulation and investing, 9 in 10 survey respondents
     said that people in their situation should have life insurance,
     although the reasons for doing so often vary between generations.
  -- Nearly a quarter of the 86 percent of people who thought they should
     have life insurance, do not have it.
  -- A significant majority of Americans (58%) say they do a better job
     saving and protecting their money than their parents do or did; and an
     even greater majority (65%) say they do a better job saving and
     protecting money than their friends and acquaintances.
  -- Younger Americans tend to look to life insurance for taking care of a
     wider range of needs compared with older Americans, including funeral
     costs, children's future education costs, and several years of
     household expenses, indicating that they see life insurance as playing
     a bigger role as far as wealth protection and wealth accumulation than
     do older Americans.
  -- More Americans would rather go bungee jumping or stand in front of a
     crowd to make a speech than talk about life insurance, but more would
     rather talk with an agent about life insurance than sit through a job
     performance review with their supervisor, fill out a college
     application, or deal with a medical insurer about a planned surgery.
  -- When it comes to advice and insight on life insurance issues, many
     respondents who have life insurance primarily consulted with an
     insurance agent or financial advisor about how much life insurance they
     needed (33%) -- significantly more than those who consult with friends
     or family members or who simply chose a standard life insurance option
     available through work.

According to LIMRA International's 2005 Trend in Life Ownership study, nearly 68 million Americans have no life insurance coverage; yet according to the ING survey, most Americans (71%) feel it is something they should not do without. Some of the most common misperceptions about life insurance are related to coverage amounts. Eight in ten Americans say that they would need one or two year's worth of household expenses to be paid by life insurance, while two thirds say they would need at least ten years of household expenses for their family. However, many financial advisors recommend families have more life insurance than that, depending on individual situations and financial circumstances. Annual budgetary items, such as mortgage payments, child care, insurance, and basic living expenses, are all important factors to include.

"With term life rates continuing to drop and life expectancy rising, life insurance is the most affordable it's ever been," said Smith. "Americans need to leverage experienced life insurance professionals or the internet to find a product that best suits their needs and budget. It is as simple as getting any other form of insurance and just as essential to adequately protect your family and your assets."

ING offers helpful tips and tools for people exploring life insurance, including a do-it-yourself life insurance calculator at www.inglifeinsurance.com . The site also provides basic, user-friendly information on life insurance and other wealth protection products.

Commissioned by ING and conducted by Ipsos in late 2007 and early 2008, the ING Life Insurance Study included over 1,000 randomly-selected participants. The data is weighted to ensure the sample regional, age and gender composition reflects the actual U.S. population, and the margin of error is +/- 3.1%.

About ING

ING is a global financial institution of Dutch origin offering banking, insurance and asset management to over 75 million private, corporate and institutional clients in more than 50 countries. With a diverse workforce of over 125,000 people, ING comprises a broad spectrum of prominent companies that increasingly serve their clients under the ING brand.

In the U.S., the ING (NYSE: ING) family of companies offer a comprehensive array of financial services to retail and institutional clients, which includes life insurance, retirement plans, mutual funds, managed accounts, alternative investments, direct banking, institutional investment management, annuities, employee benefits, financial planning, and reinsurance. Life insurance products are issued by ReliaStar Life Insurance Company (Minneapolis, MN), ReliaStar Life Insurance Company of New York (Woodbury, NY) and Security Life of Denver Insurance Company (Denver, CO). Only ReliaStar Life Insurance Company of New York is admitted, and its products issued within the state of New York. All are members of the ING family of companies. ING holds top-tier rankings in key U.S. markets and serves over 14 million customers across the nation. For more information, visit www.ing.com .

Ipsos Public Affairs is not affiliated with ING.

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact: chuck.eudy@us.ing.com

SOURCE: ING U.S. Financial Services

CONTACT: Chuck Eudy, +1-770-980-5209, chuck.eudy@us.ing.com, or Philip
Margolis, +1-860-580-2676, phil.margolis@us.ing.com, both of ING

Web site: http://www.ing.com/
http://www.inglifeinsurance.com/