Across the world, financial markets have suffered due to the American credit crunch. Products have been withdrawn from the mortgage and loan markets and eligibility criteria for other products have been tightened. More and more people have found it difficult to find the financial products they need at the price they can afford.

On top of this increases in the price of food and fuel have stretched household budgets to their limits and left people wondering whether we are heading for another recession. Spare cash does not seem readily available and people are being to wonder what they can do, in a bid to reduce their monthly outgoings. With this in mind it is a little surprising to see that in some countries the life insurance market is rocketing.

South Africa's life insurance market has suffered from bad publicity due to a number of rulings against it by the pension fund adjudicator. People had lost confidence in the sector and after a number of high profile cases which highlighted the steep early termination charges and lack of information around savings products. However this seems to have changed with a renew customer interest in the sector, leading to a 13 percent increase in spending on premiums.

Britain has also seen high growth in this area with the Association for British Insurers reporting steady growth in both the Life insurance and pensions sectors in the first quarter of this year. Simplification of tax laws around pensions in 2006 are said to have had an effect on sales in this area but is this the whole story?

What is behind the trend is not certain. For the British population, facing the knock on effects of the global credit crunch there may be a desire to ensure that family are fully protected. People may be becoming increasing concerned as to whether their spouse or offspring could survive without them in the current climate or they may want to make sure that their family will still be able to live the life they have become accustomed to if they were to pass away. Life insurance can help towards ensuring that families are protected in the event of a death and also provide peace of mind.

It seems there is a need to feel more secure in these unsettling times. While life insurers are enjoying resurgence in policy uptake, they are not the only ones. Savings and pension products are seeing some increasing popular. This may be due to that fact that it is becoming clearer that the state pension will not provide the standard of living most have become accustomed to, and thus that may be encouraging people to consider alternative options.

While the exact reasons behind the surge in these markets is not clear, what is clear is that while across the global other areas of the financial markets are struggling, life insurance is increasing and the importance of ensuring the future security of your family cannot be underestimated.