The final quarter of the year saw several major highlights including the UK Health & Protection Awards 2025 and Sir Charlie Mayfield deliver his Keep Britain Working Review.
Health & Protection published our Individual and Business Protection Report, while the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) failed to deliver its interim report on the pure protection market study.
There was also big mergers and acquisitions activity, movement on SME claims data and prominent protetion leadership departures.
October
October brought the industry’s biggest night of the year – the UK Health & Protection Awards More with more than 750 advisers, insurers and other representatives gathered together to celebrate and recognise the industry’s achievements.
Stephen Hough received the Outstanding Contribution Award, while our photographs captured all the highlights of the night.
As the autumn leaves started to fall, Sir Charlie Mayfield challenged insurers to create risk pooling solutions that would enable workers at SMEs to gain access to the sort of health insurance benefits enjoyed by their peers at larger companies.
For World Mental Health Day, Phil Jeynes spoke to Health & Protection about his own mental health challenges in the months since his treatment for colon cancer last year.
The subject of weight loss injections was a high profile one throughout 2025 and this was maintained with Bupa adding access to these for its insured customers.
And Ann-Marie O’Dea, CEO at Shepherds Friendly, revealed she would be stepping down after a decade in the role.
November
As November got underway the Association of Mortgage Intermediaries (AMI) released its latest protection viewpoint research, which was not entirely positive for the sector.
The report dropped on the same day as the final report from Sir Charlie Mayfield’s Keep Britain Working Review.
In the longer term it recommended the government must research and develop evidence to deploy a full range of targeted incentives potentially including tax relief, sick pay rebates and National Insurance adjustments as part of the approach.
However there was more immediate action as eleven major insurers, representative bodies and healthcare providers were among more than 60 employers joining forces with the government to help tackle labour market inactivity.
Another eye-catching article that week, was our piece on Howden buying Evelyn Partners’ benefits business.
Keeping the broker firm in the spotlight, Howden UK health and benefits CEO and global practice leader Glenn Thomas told Health & Protection insurers must be clearer on what is driving medical inflation and what they are doing to ease the burden on customers.
At AMII’s autumn summit, insurers were warned not to use chatbots for mental health solutions.
An impassioned plea from a bereaved parent put pressure on protection insurers to address a gap in coverage for newborn deaths.
And important changes to inheritance tax featured in the Budget.
December
The final month of the year saw Health & Protection’s latest Individual and Business Protection Report find more than 11 and a half million individual protection policies were in force at the end of 2024.
The FCA revealed its protection market study will stretch into the second half of 2027 and its interim report will be delayed into the New Year.
However another move from the regulator to cut mandatory CPD hours and annual product reviews grabbed much attention.
Taking heed from intermediaries, Axa Health announced it will begin publishing claims data reports for small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) in January.
Chesnara received regulatory approval to complete its £260m purchase of HSBC Life UK with it targeting completion by the end of January.
PHIN revealed PMI funded hospital admissions fell in the second quarter of the year.
Monzo Bank announced its acquisition of Habito, and Rose St Louis revealed she will be leaving Scottish Widows in the spring.
And bringing things bang up to date, a debate developed over whether client-facing staff should be allowed to wear Christmas jumpers. Advisers about this topic and the views were certainly mixed to say the least.
