The proportion of income protection claims caused by mental illness doubled during 2020, making it the most common reason for a claim according to data published by Zurich.
The insurer said that overall more than one in four (27 per cent) income protection claims were triggered by a mental health condition in 2020, compared to just 13 per cent of claims in 2019.
Looking at just group income protection policies, 28 per cent of all new group income protection claims last year were for mental illness. However this made it the second most common cause for a claim, after cancer.
Around £1.7m worth of payments were made to individual customers who claimed on their policies, while nearly one in four (18 per cent) accessed Zurich Support Services. The vast majority of these policyholders (82 per cent) were seeking clinical support for conditions including depression, stress and anxiety.
Data from the Health and Safety Executive estimates that mental illness accounts for the majority (around 17.9 million) of lost working days and is estimated to cost the economy around £105.2 billion each year
Zurich’s chief underwriter Nicky Bray says: “We know around one in four of us will experience a mental health problem at some point in our lives which means it is vital that products such as life and income protection insurance are available to as many people as possible.”
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