Is It Time To Review Your Group Risk Policies?

The Group Risk industry paid out over £2 billion during 2021, a significant increase over 2020 and testimony to the level of help it provides, research shows. Yet many employers are missing out on better deals on the employee benefits they offer as they are simply not taking the time to regularly review them.

[Related reading: What Flexible Employee Benefits Do Your Staff Really Want?]

Group Risk Industry Paid Out £2.22 Billion During 2021

A total of £2.22 billion was paid out by the Group Risk industry during 2021, an increase of £208.4 million on 2020, new research reveals.

According to the figures compiled by Group Risk Development (GRiD), the industry body for the Group Risk protection sector, Group Life Assurance policy payments made up the majority of the total, accounting for £1.57 billion, an increase of £198.47 million on 2020. Meanwhile, Group Income Protection policies paid out benefits totalling £546.1 million — a decrease of £4.72 million on 2020 — and Group Critical Illness policies paid out a total of £106.3 million, an increase of £14.7 million on 2020 figures.

Group Income Protection policies helped 6,113 employees, while additional help and support services funded by group risk insurers assisted 220,886 people.

The GRiD data also showed that cancer was the main reason for claiming last year, followed by critical illness claims for heart disease, mental illness and heart attacks.

Katharine Moxham, a spokesperson for GRiD, highlighted that the statistics "categorically show that Group Risk benefits really are some of the most valued benefits that employers can offer: financially, practically and emotionally."

One In Five Employers Missing Out On Better Group Risk Deals

Despite the enormous help provided by Group Risk offerings, many employers are missing out on securing better deals because they are not reviewing their policies regularly enough, separate research shows.

According to the data from insurer Aon, one in every five UK businesses (20%) could be missing out on better renewal terms on life insurance, income protection, and Private Medical Insurance plans (PMI).

Aon’s UK Benefits and Trends Survey 2022 reveals that many firms review their policies every year or every two years. Others haven’t done so in over five years. 

Life assurance and PMI policies are the most likely to be examined by employers, being reviewed every year or every two years by 71% and 68% of organisations respectively. Income Protection is reviewed every year or two by 58% of employers, while critical illness is reviewed every year or two by 36% and occupational health by 32%.

Aon principal health and risk Mark Witte says: “Businesses have been navigating new forms of volatility and the uncertainty continues, so it is concerning that around one in five employers aren’t proactively using market leverage to achieve greater value through improved renewal terms. Although the majority of employers test the market in line with standard rate guarantee periods, this practice is more common with risk insurance than with medical benefits.”

[Related reading: Most Workers Value Employee Benefits Above Pay]

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When was the last time you reviewed the employee benefitsyou offer? It’s worrying that Aon’s research shows some organisations haven’t done so for over five years, especially when you consider the significant help Group Risk products provided last year, as revealed by GRiD’s data.

Contact us today to see if we can help you secure a better employee benefits deal.