Covid-19 (Coronavirus) has caused a surge in employee demand for greater employer-provided financial protection, according to a new study.
AIG, which commissioned research among nearly 1,000 workers, found 37% said the pandemic had caused them to consider that life insurance, income protection or critical illness should now be offered by their employer.
The results also showed that nearly a third (30%), are specifically inquiring about the exact insurance their organisation provides.
Younger workers were found to be most preoccupied with this, with 58% of under-25s wanting more protection insurance available through work and 61% saying they plan to find out more about what is already on offer.
Workers in London – the region most impacted by Coronavirus – were revealed to most want employer-provided protection insurance (from 55%), while the area with least demand was Wales. Some 43% of Londoners say the will find out what protection insurance their organisation offers – second only to the 45% of workers in the North-East who said the same.
Commenting on the findings, Lee Lovatt, managing director, group protection, AIG, said: “Employers cover around 13.1 million staff with group risk insurance, including life, critical illness and income protection. But the Coronavirus crisis has brought into sharp focus a desire to have a financial safety net in case of illness or, in the worst case scenario, the death of a breadwinner.”
But while employees say they want more cover, the research also found there is a perception it is too costly. The data found 55% of staff believed insurance protection was ‘too expensive’.
Added Lovatt: “It is a concern so many people believe individual protection insurance is too expensive. This is often not the case.”