Aviva: Workers lack protection but don't believe they will need it

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) November 17, 2011 -- More than half of UK workers (52%) would be unable to survive financially for more than three months if they were off work with an illness, suggests new research from Aviva.

The insurer’s survey of 1,000 employees in October found that around a third (30%) thought they would survive for less than a month while less than one in ten (9%) said they would remain solvent for a year or more.

Although these figures suggest that workers will be receptive to the marketing of income protection (IP), the survey also found that 80% of respondents thought it was unlikely that they would have to deal with long-term sickness. This finding follows a recent consumer survey conducted by the Association of British Insurers (ABI) which found that 82% of people had never been absent from work for more than three months as a result of sickness or injury. In this survey, 89% of respondents said they would pay less than £5 a week for IP, 29% said they would not be prepared to pay anything at all.

However, disability insurer Unum reports that 11% of people have taken more than six months off work through illness or injury and Aviva believes that many people overestimate the level of support they would receive from the State if they were unable to work through ill-health. Less than two in ten (19%) of its respondents knew how much statutory sick pay they would be entitled to while a quarter (26%) think they would receive more than the actual amount available.

Asked about how they would cope without a salary, respondents said they would eat cheaper food and cut down on family holidays. Asked about the return to work following a period of illness, they said that the provision of proper support would allay fears about the risk of relapse or being unable to cope.

Aviva also surveyed 500 employers and found that 25% agreed that the rehabilitation process is “vital” in tackling long-term absence. However, only one in ten said that they would consider how they could adapt the responsibilities of the worker to aid their return to work.

Last year, Unum teamed up with think-tank Demos to investigate the case for the Government to incentivise employees and employers to invest in income protection. Demos estimated that the Government could save £2.24bn a year by reforming statutory sick pay and giving incentives to those who opt to take out protection.

Like Unum, Aviva is currently promoting IP through a television advertising campaign.

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Article source - www.hi-mag.com/health-insurance/product-area/group-risk/article384217.ece

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