A NEW online survey by the Mortgage Advisers' Association has revealed that on most people's scale of financial priorities, keeping a roof over their head is at - or very near - the top. In fact, more than 80 per cent of the 10,000 survey respondents considered meeting their mortgage repayments as their biggest financial worry if they were to lose their jobs.

It also discovered alarming gaps in the nation's finances with more than 50 per cent of respondents saying that they would hope to rely on state social security benefits if they were unable to find employment after redundancy.

The statistics are very worrying says MAA Chief Executive Phillip Ambler: "Respondents are very aware of the risks of unemployment or long-term illness and yet they are still not making adequate provision either by savings or by insurance.''

Households in Wales and the Midlands were found to be the least well prepared for redundancy.

Only 37 per cent of those in the Midlands said they would be able to cope with redundancy and in Wales the figure drops to 26 per cent.

In Scotland only 57 per cent of households said they would be prepared if the main wage earner were to be made redundant.

Only 25 per cent said they had enough income protection insurance to cover their mortgage and living expenses in the event of redundancy.

"We found a lot of contradictions in the survey,'' said Mr Ambler. "For example, many households were aware of how little they would receive from the State.

Yet despite this most have not thought about how they would supplement it with Mortgage Payment Protection Insurance (MPPI)".

Yet the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) says that less than a third of homebuyers have taken out MPPI to cover their mortgage if they are unable to work as a result of unemployment, sickness or accident. Some independent brokers argue that the low take-up is because high street lenders are making the insurance too expensive.

"We are trying to encourage all workers to think carefully about how they will meet their commitments if they lose their job or are unable to work through illness or injury,'' said Peter Williams, deputy director-general of the CML.

Research by the London School of Economics indicates that 55 per cent of workers need cover. The remaining 35 per cent are regarded as less at risk, either because they have a small mortgage or have the ability to repay it by other means.

Mr Williams said: "One of the reasons some people do not take out MPPI to protect their mortgage is that they believe they will receive sufficient money from the State to tide them over.

"However, State help has been reduced significantly in recent years. The basic benefit for someone who is unemployed is less than £60 a week, while the amount of financial help given towards a mortgage will depend on when it was taken out.