There has been a significant improvement in the buy-now rates for some of the most commonly disclosed physical and mental health conditions, according to analysis from UnderwriteMe’s Protection Platform Pulse Report 2026.
Comparing protection platform data from 2024 with application data submitted throughout 2025 and the first half of 2026, the proportion of applicants receiving an immediate life cover decision for diabetes increased from up to 71% to up to 84%. Similarly, buy-now rates for raised blood pressure also rose from up to 87% to up to 95%, cholesterol from up to 80% to up to 91% and depression, anxiety and stress increased from up to 90% to as high as 99% during the same time period.
The findings are based on anonymised and aggregated life, critical illness and income protection application data submitted through UnderwriteMe’s protection platform across a range of insurers including Beagle Street, Guardian, Holloway, LV=, Royal London, Scottish Widows, The Exeter, Virgin Money and Vitality.
Life cover applications accounted for 65% of submissions, unchanged from the previous Pulse Report. Critical illness comprised 23%, changed from 25%, while income protection increased its share of applications from 10% to 12%, a rise of 20%.
Rise of IP
But the report also revealed income protection is gaining momentum on the protection platform, with its share of applications increasing from 10% in 2024 to 12% in the latest reporting period (2025 – H1 2026) – representing a 20% rise. Over the same period, income protection straight-through processing increased from 62% in 2024 to 64% in 2025 and 66% in the first half of 2026.
The report also indicated strong appetite among consumers for this cover, with almost half (49%) of UK workers saying they would be interested in insuring their monthly income against being unable to work due to illness or injury. Interest rose to 66% among Gen Z (born between 1997 and 2012) workers compared with 38% of Gen X workers (born between 1964 and 1980), while 14% of UK workers overall said they would be very interested in taking out this type of cover.
Gender gap
Shedding light on the differences in protection purchasing patterns between men and women, life cover and critical illness applications were broadly balanced between genders, with a 51% male, 49% female split with life cover policies, and 49% male, 51% female split for critical illness. However, income protection remains more heavily weighted towards male applicants, with men accounting for 56% of applications compared to 44% for women.
Straight-through processing rates
Across the report’s latest 18 month dataset, critical illness saw the highest overall straight-through processing rate at 84%, compared with 83% for life cover and 64% for income protection.
Significant progress
Andrew Doran, CEO of UnderwriteMe, (pictured) said: “This year’s Protection Platform Pulse Report highlights the significant progress being made across the protection market. We are seeing more applicants with common physical and mental health conditions such as diabetes, cholesterol, depression, and anxiety receiving immediate underwriting decisions, demonstrating how insurers are continuing to refine their underwriting approaches and improve access to protection cover.
“For advisers, this means greater confidence when discussing protection with clients and a smoother route from recommendation to cover. However, despite these advances, consumer perceptions have not yet fully caught up.
“Many people still assume a health condition will make protection difficult to obtain when the reality is often very different.
“Closing that awareness gap represents a significant opportunity for the industry. By helping consumers better understand how underwriting has evolved, we can ensure more people access the protection they need, improve financial resilience in the UK and grow the market.”
