A large number of families would be left financially vulnerable if the female partner died unexpectedly, according to new research on life assurance from AIB's life and pensions company, Ark Life.

The firm's annual life assurance survey has found that the number of women who do not have life assurance has climbed from last year.

The increase in the number of women without cover came despite evidence that nearly half of female partners are contributing to their household's budget. Of 400 women surveyed by Ark Life, 42 per cent work in paid employment outside the home.

Some 57 per cent of the 400 participants said they did not have any personal life cover, 5 percentage points more than in 2004. Nearly half of the women surveyed said that their partners did not have any cover on them, while 44 per cent said their partners did not have any life cover either. The majority of women working outside the home said that their employers did not provide lump-sum death benefits. "It must be of concern that such a high proportion of women do not have life assurance cover," said Bernard Lynch, marketing manager with Ark Life.

"Those that do have very modest cover - the median value is just over €62,000. This is despite the fact that 38 per cent of women believe the lump sum needed in the event of their own death would be €100,000," Mr Lynch added.

Ark Life has also found that the proportion of women who work in the home has climbed from 46 per cent to 51 per cent since 2001. When asked to break down their working day, these women said they spend 17 hours per day looking after children and completing household chores. Ark Life estimates that paying for this work would cost €37,000 annually based on the minimum wage and a six-day working week.