Caring responsibilities are one of the most common vulnerabilities for customers, data from the MorganAsh Resilience System (MARS) found.
The most common life events for vulnerable customers were bereavement, divorce or separation, and caring responsibilities, including caring for elderly parents or children.
Around 9% of women and 7% of men reported issues with caring responsibilities, which matches national figures for care provision.
Carers UK has estimated that one in five people in the UK are carers, with many facing financial pressures and poor health outcomes.
The latest FCA Financial Lives survey found that almost half of adults had at least one characteristic of vulnerability.
It also showed that about one in 10 adults are in poor health, with more than half of them struggling to deal with providers or manage their finances.
MARS data also showed common health vulnerabilities included alcohol dependency, diabetes, learning difficulties, mobility problems and hearing loss, with these more likely in older age groups.
Johnny Timpson OBE (pictured), an advocate for UK carers and chairman of MorganAsh, said: “The DWP has many questions to answer when you consider the appalling scandal surrounding carers allowance.
“Not only are more people losing this important financial lifeline, many are falling into negative budgets, as a broken system relies on overworked and overstretched carers to self-report when they have overclaimed.
“In short, carers are under immense pressure and it’s absolutely critical that financial services steps up where the Government continues to fall short.”
Timpson added: “With the right assessment discovering the right information, financial services firms can provide the right recommendations and support, as well intervene early to determine if needs have changed or anything is different.
“There’s no question that being a carer is a major life event that is hugely common – it can come at any time of life and be for extended periods.
“We need to be aware of this – and understand the implications of this – to ensure that our unsung heroes receive the service and support they need.”
Andrew Gething, managing director of MorganAsh, said: “When considering how to manage customer vulnerability, conversation often focuses on visible conditions such as blindless, financial distress or consumer understanding.
“Life events such as divorce or separation and bereavement were always likely to be at the top, but we did not expect to find carer issues and potential financial coercion so high.
“With clear challenges around financial resilience and poor health – particularly for unpaid carers – we need to be building a complete picture around all our clients to have the best chance of mitigating the difficulties they face and understanding the outcomes for key groups, such as carers.”
Gething added: “We cannot do this with robust data, which requires consistent assessment and the right processes and technology.”
