If the average person was unable to work they would only last 52 days before running out of money, according to research.

Yorkshire Building Society said people have monthly outgoings of about £1,445, but they have an average of just £2,474 set aside in accessible savings.

The research found that 36% of people would run out of money within 11 days if they could not work, having less than £500 of savings.

To make matters worse, nine out of 10 people have no form of income protection insurance to cover their bills if they were unable to work or lost their job.

A fifth of people admitted they had no idea how they would survive financially if they were unable to work, while others had unrealistic contingency plans.

About 19% of people said they would manage on state benefits, despite the fact that they had weekly outgoings of about £334 and would be likely to receive just £75.40 a week in state benefits, although they may qualify for incapacity benefit on top of this.

A further 5% claimed they would sell their home in order to access money quickly, despite the fact that the state of the housing market makes it difficult to do this.

Among people who do have some form of insurance cover, the majority have policies that will only pay out if they die, with 47% having life insurance, while just 10% have income protection cover.

The research found that certain groups are more exposed than others, with people who are divorced the least likely to be able to cope if they lost their job, having savings that would last an average of just 35 days, while part-time workers would run out of money after 37 days.

Tanya Jackson, corporate affairs manager at Yorkshire Building Society, said: "In the current economic climate, this research paints an extremely alarming picture for those consumers without any protection products in place.

"Finances for many are already finely balanced due to the rising cost of living and the research reveals that both state benefits and savings are not viable options for the majority of consumers to rely upon for an adequate length of time."

Copyright © PA Business 2008