The group risk industry paid out £1.24 billion in 2013, according to research by Group Risk Development (Grid).
This is a rise from the £1.2 billion paid out by the industry in 2012, based on statistics from the industry body’s research.
The research also broke down the risk benefits paid out by product type, such as group life assurance, group income protection and group critical illness insurance.
The research found an increase in claims paid out for group life assurance, group income protection and group critical illness, with an extra £16 million, £13 million and £9 million paid out, respectively, over the previous year.
A total of 24,102 claims were paid out, equating to £1.24 billion.
The value of the claims made for 2013 were £877 million for group life assurance, £318 million for group income protection and £50 million for group critical illness.
The main causes of claims included:
- Cancer (46%) and heart disease (17%) for group life assurance.
- Cancer (25%) and mental illness (24%) for group income protection.
- Cancer (69%) and heart attack (10%) for group critical illness.
Katharine Moxham (pictured), spokesperson for Grid, said: “We are pleased to once again bring together these figures, providing a unique insight into the collective contribution the group risk industry makes to supporting British families and conclusive proof of the value of employer-funded group protection policies for their workers.”