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A third of Britons claim to be `unaffected` by credit crunch

19/06/2008

Over a third (36 per cent) of British consumers believe the current economic downturn will not affect their lives, research by Zurich has revealed.

More than a fifth (21 per cent) of those questioned by the insurance provider think "credit crunch" is a media-created term and less than a third (29 per cent) of consumers have looked at their personal finances in light of it, a finding described as "worrying" by Zurich`s Tony Solomon.

The business development director of Zurich UK Life commented: "With the credit crunch bringing spiralling living costs, from fuel to food to interest rates, families are seeing their budgets stretched to the limit."

Obtaining advice and reviewing financial affairs is "crucial" according to Mr Solomon.

The survey, conducted by YouGov, found that over half of consumers (52 per cent) continue to think property is a good investment.

For the 18 to 24 age group, the highest financial priority was to own a car, followed by becoming debt-free with no credit cards or overdrafts.

Credit Action figures put the UK`s total personal debt at £1,436 billion at the end of April, an increase of 8.4 per cent in 12 months.

Some Scottish house prices still rising 20/11/2008 - Amidst economic gloom and high levels of personal debt, house Energy suppliers biggest profits from poor 20/11/2008 - Consumer Focus, the new consumer watchdog, has claimed that energy Rise in bankruptcies and IVAs 20/11/2008 - There were 27,087 individual insolvencies in the third quarter of Supermarket price rises far above inflation 20/11/2008 - The latest inflation report from the Office for National Statistics