Legal & General paid total group protection claims of almost £350m in 2023.
That included £249.4m in group life assurance, £73.7m for group income protection (GIP) and £26.2m for group critical illness.
The total of £349,216,368 represents an 8% increase on the previous year, which stood at just over £320m.
Cancer represented the most common reason for making a claim, accounting for over a quarter of all new claims.
The average GIP claim paid was £21,843 with the average age of a claimant being 42.
A total of 83% of GIP claimants were able to return to work within the deferred period.
And 92% of employees with GIP mental health claims and 79% with GIP musculoskeletal claims were able to return to work between the time when they’re first absent for a continuous period and when a claim became payable – normally referred to as the deferred period, which is often six months.
Legal & General also reported that there were more than 150,000 interactions between employees and their prevention and wellbeing support services during 2023.
Many of the interactions were via the support services included as standard as part of Legal & General’s GIP.
The support available through the arrangements made by these employers often extended to both the dependants of their employees and employees who weren’t being covered.
The 150,000 interactions included usage of Legal & General’s employee assistance programme – including in the moment support, as well as structured counselling under their group income protection; and digital wellbeing platform which includes a virtual gym, nutritional pathways and shopping discounts.
Employees covered by Legal & General’s GIP, also accessed virtual GP services, including online physiotherapy, mental health support and child mental health consultations.
Legal & General said its consistency in prevention, early intervention and vocational rehabilitation results are due to its whole-person, outcomes-focused philosophy.
This model is predicated on people getting back to – or staying in – ‘good work’ as a key health goal.
Vanessa Sallows, group protection claims and governance director, Legal & General Retail, said: “We’re proud to maintain our incredibly strong GIP early intervention and vocational rehabilitation results thanks to the experience and expertise of our amazing in-house teams and specialist healthcare partners.
“GIP effectively helps to support employees manage their wellbeing, preventing them dropping out of the workplace in the first place and, where appropriate, helping them get back on track when they do.
“It’s for this reason that we report, for the first time this year, on total ‘interactions’ with preventative help and support services; an essential component of our Be Well. Get Better. Be Supported. framework.
“Our goal is to help people return to – and stay in – good work, because that’s beneficial for the whole person health and wellbeing; physical, emotional, financial and social.
“Some less obvious – but crucial – aspects of our vocational clinical support that help with this, include support to employers on working conditions, including stress risk assessments and reasonable adjustments, to help ensure return to work is sustainable.”