Figures on how New Zealanders spend their insurance dollars show we value our belongings more than we do ourselves.
Research undertaken by EY reveals New Zealanders spent 5.5 times more on non-life insurance premiums in 2011, than we did on life insurance premiums.
This equates to 5.2% of GDP spent on non-life and 0.9% of GDP spent on life insurance premiums.
The findings are staggering when compared to developed parts of Asia Pacific. Australians spent 3.0% of GDP on both life and non-life insurance premiums.
In reverse to New Zealand, those in Japan, Hong Kong and Taiwan spent 1.4-4.6% of GDP on non-life insurance, and a whopping 7.0-13.9% on life insurance.