Mental health issues remain leading cause of income protection claims

More than a third (34 per cent) of all income protection claims made to Wesleyan were due to mental health issues. The next most common causes of long-term absence were musculoskeletal problems (13 per cent) and cancer (13 per cent). Wesleyan paid out almost 98 per cent of all claims made for personal income protection benefits last year (against an industry average of 91 per cent), amounting to nearly £29m.

The findings come in the wake of Wesleyan launching its Employee Income Protection Plan, which has been developed for dental practices and provides them with an additional benefit to help attract and retain staff. Wesleyan will still be providing income protection products for individuals, but this latest offering enables dental practices to ensure employees are adequately covered if they are unable to work due to illness or injury.

Clive Bridge, managing director of life and pensions at Wesleyan, said, “There has been a huge drive in recent years to raise awareness of mental health issues in the workplace. Depression and anxiety can keep people off work for a long time. However, knowing they are still able to receive an income while they are unable to work eases the worry of how bills and expenses can still be paid, meaning they can concentrate fully on getting better.