COVID increases interest in employer-provided insurance: AIG Life

The COVID pandemic is generating demand for work-provided protection insurance, according to research from UK life insurer AIG Life.

An increasing number of employees are looking to their employer for cover to protect against the risk of losing their livelihoods, AIG Life said.

Nearly two out of five (37 percent) of employees questioned in the UK survey said the health crisis made them want more protection insurance such as life insurance, income protection and critical illness. Another 30 percent have actively looked to find out more about the protection insurance available from their employer.

Younger workers are most focused on protection insurance from their employers, the study found. Around 58 percent of under-25s want more protection insurance available through work, while 61 percent are planning to find out more about what is already on offer.

People in London and the North East are the most likely to want more protection insurance from employers, while employees in Northern Ireland as well as those in London and the North East the most likely to find out more about protection insurance already available through work.

COVID has exposed the precariousness of employment for many, but customers fear they cannot afford to buy protection cover on their own, explained AIG Life. Around 55 percent said they believe individual cover is too expensive.

Lee Lovett, managing director of group protection at AIG Life, said: “Employers cover around 13.1 million people in the UK by providing group risk insurance, including life, critical illness and income protection, so it makes sense for employees to better understand the cover that is available through work.”