Legal & General puts return-to-work success down to ‘whole person’ approach: 2022 annual claims, early intervention and rehabilitation data announced

• 20% of all employees in the UK that were able to return to work last year within the deferred period of Group Income Protection policies were supported by Legal & General.¹
• 92% of employees with Group Income Protection mental health claims were able to return to work within the deferred period, maintaining high levels of previous years.
• Legal & General says annual results are testament to its whole-person philosophy, embodied in its Be Well. Get Better. Be Supported. framework of wellbeing support. With the priority being people getting back to – or staying in – ‘good work’ as a key health goal.

In 2022, Legal & General’s internal clinical team carried out 7,155 assessments. They also funded 3,219 sessions for claimants suffering from physical and mental health conditions with their physiotherapy and psychological healthcare partners, up on 2,509 in 2021.

92% of employees with GIP mental health claims and 80% with GIP musculoskeletal claims were able to return to work between the time when they’re first absent and when a claim becomes payable - normally referred to as the deferred period, which is often 6 months.

Legal & General says the ongoing strength of its annual vocational rehabilitation and early intervention results are testament to its whole-person philosophy, which helps intermediaries and employers join the dots between the four pillars of wellbeing (physical, mental, financial and social). This philosophy is embodied in – and simplified by – Legal & General’s Be Well. Get Better. Be Supported. framework of wellbeing support; the whole-person model predicated on people getting back to – or staying in – ‘good work’ as a key health goal.

Support provided included:

• Early Intervention. 3,893 employees were referred to Legal & General’s early intervention services between 4 weeks and 6 months of absence due to illness or injury, representing 69% of total absences referred within that timeframe in 2022.
• Rehabilitation 2,509 employees in long-term absence of more than 6 months were referred to Legal & General’s vocational rehabilitation services as part of the proactive claims management model enabling people to thrive at work. This represented 36% of total absences of 26 weeks or more during 2022.

Total Group Risk Claims

In 2022, Legal & General paid total claims of around £320.4m in Group Protection claims across Group Life Assurance, Group Income Protection and Group Critical Illness.

References

¹ Based on GRID’s 2022 all-of-industry statistics which show that 4,257 people were able to go back to work during the deferred period last year because of an active early intervention funded by an insurer.