Access to workplace health benefits prevented 14 million sick days in 2021 and helped 12,500 full-time workers stay in employment.
Research for the Association of British Insurers (ABI) has concluded investment by employers in health and protection saved businesses £2.6bn and the wider economy £2bn.
The Futureproofing Workplace Health research, carried out by WPI Economics, has emphasised how, through insurance, employees were able to access services including vocational rehabilitation, timely mental health support and speedy access to diagnosis and treatment.
It also highlighted that a record 4.4 million people are now covered by health insurance through their employer and one million claims have been made over the past year.
Access to workplace-funded health services also saved the NHS an estimated £1bn during 2021, the ABI found.
Yvonne Braun, director of policy, health and protection at the ABI, said: “These striking figures show that health and protection insurance is vital for the health of UK plc. Our sector provides services which have a material positive impact on people’s health and financial resilience, while also supporting businesses and the productivity of the UK economy.
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“By helping employers to invest in the health and wellbeing of their employees, insurers also complement the vital work of the NHS. Government must include insurance in its plans to tackle the record levels of economic inactivity.”
Separately, health insurer Aon has highlighted how inflation is battering medical and healthcare insurance as much as other parts of the economy, and could lead to costs almost doubling next year.
Although the rate of inflation has fallen in previous weeks, prices are still rising – just more slowly – and this trend was showing clearly in its 2024 Global Medical Trend Rates Report.
The report has looked at how the average “medical trend” is changing, essentially the cost that private healthcare is projected to rise by after taking into account inflation, advances in technologies and drugs, and how plans are being used.
It has estimated the medical trend rate for 2024 will be 15%, up from 8.5% in 2023.
The top medical conditions driving medical plan costs in the UK were musculoskeletal and back issues, cancer and tumour growth, and mental health, Aon found.
Rui Silva, vice president and medical trend leader in health solutions for multinationals at Aon, said: “We have been in a period of remarkable inflationary conditions and economic volatility. The series of shocks affecting economies around the world after the Covid-19 pandemic continue to create an unstable environment for the healthcare market, despite continued signs of improvement. Volatile conditions will persist.
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“Despite uncertainty on how long global inflationary pressures will last, it is clear from the locations surveyed that the medical trend rate will see a sharp rise in 2024 among employer-sponsored medical plans,” he added.
