"It’s an ethos that is central to our company values and why we always take the time to individualise the support we provide our customers."
- Paula Coffey, Director of Claims, Rehabilitation & Medical Services at Unum UK
Overall, Unum paid 276,000 claims in 2023. The leading cause for claims across Unum’s group risk products was a recent cancer diagnosis, accounting for 69% of Group Critical Illness (GCI), 39% of Life Insurance, and 30% of Group Income Protection (GIP) claims. Meanwhile, dental payouts rose by 29%, exceeding £31mn overall. This reflects what the Health and Social Care Committee, appointed by the House of Commons, described as a “crisis of access” to NHS dentistry; the committee recently called for “urgent and fundamental reform for people to receive the dental and oral healthcare they need.”
Notably, 50.7% of GCI claims and 46% of GIP claims were paid to policyholders aged 49 or younger. 27.5% of Life Insurance claims came from this age group.
Unum UK recorded a 97% return-to-work success rate for individuals supported by its Group IP Rehabilitation Service, despite experiencing a 35% rise in the number of referrals. This comes after several enhancements were introduced to better support people returning to work or reaching agreed outcomes with their employer following ill-health or injury.
49% of Unum’s rehabilitation referrals were triggered by mental health conditions – this is a 37% year-on-year increase. Unum said its app has also seen an increase in people seeking mental health support, with 37% of all bookings now relate to mental health.
“Helping people in challenging times is why we exist as a business and what matters to us most. We’re always looking for ways to improve in the areas that make a real difference to people, and having such an experienced in-house team enables us to do exactly that,” said Paula Coffey, Director of Claims, Rehabilitation & Medical Services at Unum UK.
She highlighted that the provider has significantly increased support and training for line managers to help businesses spot and recognise the signs of distress - placing a particular emphasis on the importance of early referrals. “Our experience shows us that a successful return-to-work is centred on truly understanding the individual, and where we draw on our expertise to support people,” Paula explained.
