Legal & General paid out over £335m in group protection claims in 2021 – a 4 per cent increase on the year before.
There were increases in both the value of life assurance and critical illness claims, the later of which almost doubled from £7.2m in 2020 to £13.2m in 2021. There was a more modest rise in group life insurance claims, which were up by £9.5m to £242.7m — an increase of just under 4 per cent.
However L&G said there was a slight fall in the number of group income protection claims, which were down by £2.4m to £70.5m. However L&G points out that this is still up on 2019’s pre-Covid claims level of £66.4m.
L&G also pointed to the success of its vocational rehabilitation and early intervention services in helping potential GIP claimants return to work before a claim is paid. It said that 20 per cent of all the employees in the UK that were able to return to work before this benefit was paid were using these L&G services.
These early intervention services are being more widely used. In 2021, the company set up 2,569 sessions for claimants suffering from physical and mental health conditions with its physiotherapy and psychological healthcare partners, up on 2,449 in 2020.
Legal & General says that it has managed to maintain the number of people it has helped get back to life- and work- ability, as quickly as possible, in spite of ongoing health sector challenges related to the Covid-19 pandemic. For example, over nine in 10 employees with GIP mental health claims and more than eight in 10 musculoskeletal claimants were able to return to work within the deferred period, and the same ratios apply within the first year or absence.
Legal & General launched its new outcomes-focused framework for wellbeing at work in 2021. Be Well, Get Better, Be Supported, recognises mental health as the foundation for all aspects of wellbeing. All of Legal & General’s wellbeing, early intervention and vocational rehabilitation services – including education, awareness and training support – now sit within this framework.
This framework also aims to help equip intermediaries and clients with the tools, resources and expertise to help maximise wellbeing support services when an employee is struggling at work – whether or not they are absent. It also aims to help intermediaries talk confidently about how protection and embedded value services support clients’ wider wellbeing strategy and overall business goals.
L&G said this new framework comes against a backdrop of just over a quarter (26 per cent) of HR leaders saying they would like to better understand the full extent of what is available in terms of embedded value services. While nearly half (49 per cent) already viewed such services as a key part of their wellbeing strategy.
Vanessa Sallows, claims and governance director for Legal &General Group Protection says: “ These results evidence another strong year for Legal & General in the UK Group Risk market.
“This comes in spite of ongoing treatment delays in the NHS and private health sector due to the stretch caused by the pandemic, impacting group critical illness and group income protection claimants. The knock-on private sector impact was keenly felt for musculoskeletal conditions and cancer in particular, due to the nature of treatment provision. That said, cancer still represents, by far and away, the top condition claimed for as part of our critical illness cover.
“Meanwhile, mental health continues to represent the top cause for group income protection claims. Treatment here was also put under incredible strain throughout last year; an issue that we were able to help counter thanks largely to digital delivery support options.”
She said calls to the insurers EAP increased by 14 per cent, in comparison to 2020 data, with the top reasons for counselling calls being: anxiety; low mood; depression; and bereavement.