In 2023, Legal & General paid total claims of almost £350m across group life assurance (£249,381,122), group income protection (£73,678,561) and group critical illness (£26,156,685).
This represented an 8% increase on the previous year’s total claims figure, which stood at just over £320m – with an average of just under £1m paid out every day in 2023.
The group also revealed that there were more than 150,000 interactions with its additional help and support services last year.
The 150,000 interactions included the usage of Legal & General’s Employee Assistance Programme (EAP), as well as virtual GP services, including online physiotherapy, mental health support and child mental health consultations.
Cancer was the most common reason for making a claim, accounting for more than a quarter of all new claims.
The average GIP claim paid was £21,843 with the average age of a claimant being 42.
83% of group income protection claimants were able to return to work within the deferred period.
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 were first absent for a continuous period and when a claim became payable – normally referred to as the ‘deferred period’, which is often six months.
Vanessa Sallows, group protection claims and governance director at 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.”
She concluded: “Our goal is to help people return to – and stay in – good work, because that’s beneficial for 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.”
