More than two-thirds of employees receiving support through group risk benefits returned to work during 2025.
This is according to new data from Group Risk Development (Grid), which found that 68 per cent of employees who were absent due to ill health and supported through group income protection (GIP) services returned to work by the end of the year.
In total, 5,590 employees were helped back into work during 2025. Of these, 3,920 returned before making a claim following support from their insurer, while a further 1,670 employees who made a GIP claim had returned to work by the end of the year.
Grid also found that group risk insurers paid a record £2.69bn in financial support to employees and their families in 2025, up £96.7m from the previous year.
Meanwhile, it also found that insurers provided health and wellbeing support to almost 8,300 employees, with mental health accounting for nearly half or 48 per cent of interventions, while musculoskeletal conditions represented 11 per cent of cases and cancer accounted for 9 per cent.
Group life assurance policies paid out £1.8bn during the year, while GIP policies paid £670.7m and group critical illness policies paid £190.8m.
According to Grid, the average new claim payment was £143,436 for group life assurance, £29,026 a year for group income protection and £77,098 for group critical illness cover.
Grid spokesperson Katharine Moxham: “It is great to see just how much employers and employees benefit from the tangible and practical support from group risk benefits. Good work is good for people, and of course, employers need a present workforce to function, and our data shows just how much group risk supports this.
“A strong economy needs a strong and present workforce – hence the focus from government with initiatives such as the Keep Britain Working Review. Our new data shows again just how important group risk benefits are in supporting a strong economy, and employers who offer these benefits to their workforces are the winners.
“Group risk benefits are some of the most popular benefits in the UK, with more and more employers offering them every year, and with data such as this, it’s easy to see why. The financial payouts from group risk benefits can be life-changing for employees and their families, at a time when they need it most.”
