The UK group risk industry paid out a record £2.49bn in claims in 2023 equivalent to £6.82m a day.
According to Grid’s industry data, businesses continued to largely rely on group risk protection in 2023, with £2.49 billion paid out, a £278.4 million rise from 2022.
Group risk support reached all-time highs in 2023, with 50.5 per cent of employees returning to work after prolonged sick leave, thanks to interventions such as fast-track access to counselling, physiotherapy, and specialist consultations, among others.
In 2023, 6,299 employees on sick leave were assisted in returning to work, with 4,691 returning without filing a claim as a result of insurer interventions and 1,608 returning after claiming GIP benefits.
Group risk insurers provided 7,305 interventions within six months of the initial absence, supporting 47 per cent with mental illness and 10 per cent with musculoskeletal issues, benefiting nearly 8,000 individuals in total.
Additionally, 885 employees who initiated a new GIP claim in 2022 returned to work by the end of 2023. The embedded support within group risk products benefits all employees, with over 440,000 interactions recorded, showcasing the growing utilisation and ongoing value for employees.
Total benefits across group risk products increased in 2023, with group life assurance payouts reaching £1.69 billion, a £160.9 million increase from 2022, while GIP payouts were £633.6 million, up £85.7 million, and group critical illness payouts reached £160.3 million, up £31.8 million.
According to the data, average new claim amounts of £137,448 for group life, £27,206 per year for GIP, and £77,743 for group critical illness demonstrate that these benefits provide important financial help to people of all income levels, ages, and positions.
Grid spokesperson Katharine Moxham says: “The record numbers of long-term sick is an issue for the UK, and these figures show how group risk contributes to a solution: employers who offer group risk benefits to their workforce have real and practical help in keeping their employees in work, and helping those who are absent to return.
“Recent figures from Swiss Re’s Group Watch show that group risk benefits are increasing in popularity, and our results show why: the more employers who offer group risk, the more help UK plc has to tackle this issue.
“It’s no secret that financial resilience in the UK is poor and the death, serious illness or long-term incapacity of a breadwinner can have a devastating effect on a household’s finances, often tipping people into poverty. In real terms, State provision for the sick and disabled has been becoming harder to get and dwindling for some time: it’s not enough to live on, and those who have to rely on it are the ones who can least afford to.
“Some employers boost the payments by self-funding, which is expensive. Those employers who make use of group risk benefits have the most affordable way of supporting staff and their families when the worst happens.”