The number of people covered by income protection grew by 3 per cent in 2015, compared to the previous year, continuing the growth beyond the 2 million lives milestone passed in 2013.
New figures from the Association of British Insurers also show that the number of individual income protection policies has increased for the first time since 2007. This data shows that in 2015, there were 1.15m individual income protection policies in force, a 2 per cent increase compared to 1.13m in 2014.
The ABI says the market growth is likely to be down to the industry raising awareness and improving understanding of income protection, including the industry’s work with the Money Advice Service and the 7 Families campaign.
ABI head of protection and health Raluca Boroianu-Omura says: “We’re very pleased that more people are benefitting from income protection, which provides vital support for people who are unable to work due to illness or injury. Every year, one million workers find that they are unable to work due to ill health, and income protection can act as an essential safety net by paying a replacement income, but also helping people back into the workplace earlier with rehabilitation services. This new data is encouraging, but there is work to be done to improve the take up of income protection so more people can benefit.”