The workplace protection market is seeing renewed momentum in group critical illness (GCI) cover, as more employers look to strengthen their employee benefits packages and provide broader wellbeing support. According to Chris Morgan, Head of Product & Proposition Strategy, Protection at Canada Life, demand is coming from both ends of the business spectrum, from smaller firms seeking to reward and retain key staff, to large employers expanding their flexible and voluntary benefits through salary sacrifice schemes, as he highlights in the following exclusive.
In the workplace market, the number of people insured for group critical illness (GCI) has increased by 27.5% over the last five years, demonstrating consistent and sustained demand.
That interest tends to come from two ends of the business spectrum. We work with many small employers who want to reward and retain office-based workers, specialists in their field or senior managers.
At the other end, large employers are keen to offer a range of employee benefits to more — if not all — employees on a flexible or voluntary basis via salary sacrifice. It’s this flexible, employee-funded version of GCI that is increasingly popular.
Employees face many cost-of-living challenges, so education about GCI’s value is crucial. Over time, take-up is growing with continued communication by employers and providers like Canada Life about the benefits of GCI in providing a financial safety net and supporting people’s health.
Group Protection products provide many advantages for the employee covered, with minimal underwriting, low premiums and readymade trust solutions.
Group critical illness provides comparable cover to individual plans, and the majority of claims paid by insurers are for common illnesses such as cancer (68%) and heart attack (8%), according to data collected by GRiD for GCI claims paid in 2024.
What GCI propositions now offer the customer is much more than guided care and financial support at the claims stage. Most now come with preventative healthcare and wellbeing services, like Canada Life’s recently expanded WeCare service, that help employees stay healthy while at work and potentially reduce the risk of them falling seriously ill.
They can also provide practical and emotional support as employees and their families go through illness, to help deal with that difficult time in their lives.
We also provide access to second medical opinion services, which can help the individual get their case reviewed by a leading medical expert to check they’re on the best path for their situation.
It’s these non-financial support services wrapped around the original purpose of GCI that can make the product more desirable and highly valued.
