"Accidents are frequent, but those mishaps can have a significant financial impact."
- Rich Horner, Head of Individual Protection at MetLife UK
Of those surveyed (3,021), 56% of adults in the UK have sustained an injury from an everyday accident, potentially costing more than £1.2k per incident – 15% needed or would need £1.5k or more to make ends meet. Notably, 52% admitted that they’d need financial support if they had no choice but to take time off work due to an accident.
The most common causation of accident was tripping/falling over (32%), followed by road traffic accident (22%), sporting activity (19%), falling down the stairs (13%), falling from a height (10%), handling, lifting, or carrying heavy objects (10%), cooking (8%), gardening (6%), walking the dog (6%), and using or working with machinery (5%).
Analysing the types of injuries sustained, 50% of adults have broken a bone, 21% have suffered from concussion, and 14% have lost the use of their elbow, hip, shoulder, knee, ankle, or wrist. 10% have experienced a slipped disk from an accident, whilst 6% have experienced third-degree burns.
Thankfully, 62% of adults in the UK have some form of financial protection in place, but for the vast majority, this means Life Insurance or similar standard products. Only 7% have personal injury cover and the same percentage have invested in Accident & Sickness (AS) policies. With 15% of adults having sustained an injury twice from an accident, and 20% thrice or more, MetLife believes it's important for people to purchase everyday protection products.
Alongside consumer research, MetLife spoke to 500 advisers who recommend and/or sell financial protection products. A third (35%) said their customers are only interested in financial protection once it’s too late and they need to make a claim, whilst just 31% admitted that their customers only see benefits of traditional products such as mortgage & life cover.
“People don’t always think they need financial protection, or that Life Insurance does enough to protect their families. But we want to help people say yes to living, rather than only protecting themselves from dying. Our latest research shows that people really do need support protecting their every day,” explained Rich Horner, Head of Individual Protection at MetLife UK.
He said: “Everyone deserves to be protected in those moments that matter to help them live the best version of life and enjoy the day-to-day. That’s why EverydayProtect is such an important product.
“It provides affordable financial support and covers injuries from broken bones to those that could have a significant impact on people's lives,” Rich concluded.
