CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE BENEFITS EXPERT GUIDE TO PROTECTING YOUR WORKFORCE 2025
The UK’s group risk protection market is still growing, as employers seek workforce resilience, exclusive data shows.
The pace of market growth is slower than in previous years, with consolidation among providers and changing adoption patterns reshaping the landscape. For HR leaders, the data, published in the Benefits Expert Guide to Protecting Your Workforce, highlights the increasing strategic value of these benefits and the risks of inaction.
Among the core group risk products, which includes group life insurance (GLI), group income protection (GIP) and group critical illness (GCI), GLI remains dominant, covering more than 11 million employees, with coverage up 3.6 percent year-on-year. GIP saw the fastest growth, with almost 150,000 more employees covered in 2024, up 4.82 percent on 2023. Employer adoption of GCI rose by nearly 8 percent, reflecting its growing role in wellbeing strategies.
This expansion comes against a tougher economic backdrop, with inflation, wage increases and rising premiums squeezing employer budgets. Yet demand for group risk remains strong, showing how employers value these policies as cost-effective tools for retention, productivity and wellbeing support.
Provider shake-up
The biggest structural change came from Aviva’s acquisition of AIG Life, which propelled it past Canada Life to become the largest provider of group life by both employees and employers covered. Aviva also strengthened its lead in income protection, while Canada Life saw declines in both GLI and GIP. In the critical illness market, however, Canada Life remains largest, though Aviva is closing the gap.
Consolidation is reshaping competition, just four main players now dominate the critical illness space. Unum has further expanded by acquiring Generali UK’s employee benefits renewal rights. For HR buyers, this means fewer providers to choose from but potentially stronger, more digitally integrated propositions.
Why HR should care
Rising NHS waiting times, which are now averaging 38 weeks for treatment, are driving demand for early intervention and rehabilitation, services that are increasingly bundled into group risk policies. At the same time, providers paid out a record £2.59bn in 2024, underlining the real-world value of cover when employees face illness, injury or bereavement.
The data signals an opportunity and a challenge for HR: to align with providers whose services match workforce needs, and to communicate the long-term value of protection benefits to employees.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE BENEFITS EXPERT GUIDE TO PROTECTING YOUR WORKFORCE 2025
