Another problem to overcome with some people is what I call the "gambler mentality" - someone into behavioral psychology might know the right name.

The gambler will lock onto a reward or favorable outcome and will ignore everything that doesn't lead to the reward, even if the reward is not the most likely outcome. Vegas slot machines are the obvious example but there are plenty more in the way people leveraged up to buy houses before the recession etc, not to mention the ways that financial institutions managed their risk portfolios prior until last year. As long as the reward is achievable it overshadows all other outcomes, however probable.

My guess is that preparedness in general faces at least a mild form of this in most people: it requires some time and a little money, and most people can't see "being prepared" as a reward, just as an expense. It's that reward/expense perception that's hard to change and until you do there's a bit of the gambler mentality involved.