Legal & General paid £320.4m in group protection claims in 2022 and supported more than 10,500 people.
Breaking the figure down this comprises £230.07m across group life, £72.22m in group income protection (GIP) and £18.08m to group critical illness customers.
The insurer conducted 7,155 across group income protection assessments by its internal clinical team, with 1,009 new claims admitted over the year.
Across group critical illness 450 claims were paid in 2022 and across group life 2,942 claims were paid over the year.
Return to work during deferred period
The insurer further revealed 92% of employees with group income protection mental health claims were able to return to work within the deferred period and 80% with musculoskeletal claims also did so before a claim became payable.
In all 4,257 people were able to go back to work during the deferred period last year because of an active early intervention funded by the insurer.
Almost 4,000 (3,893) employees were referred to Legal & General’s early intervention services between four weeks and six months of absence due to illness or injury, representing 69% of total absences referred within that timeframe in 2022.
More than two and a half thousand employees in long-term absence of more than six months were referred to Legal & General’s vocational rehabilitation services, representing 36% of total absences of 26 weeks or more during 2022.
Vanessa Sallows, claims and governance director at Legal & General Group Protection, (pictured) said: “Our goal is to help intermediaries and clients optimise wellbeing. Central to this is our Be Well. Get Better. Be Supported. framework.
“We’ve long advocated whole person thinking; joining the dots between the four pillars of wellbeing, viewing good mental health as the foundation for everything, and considering staying in – or getting back to – good work as a key health goal.”