● Well over half (56%) of UK adults have sustained an injury from an accident
● Almost one in three (32%) adults have injured themselves from simply tripping or falling over
● 52% admit they’d need financial support if they had to take time off work due to an accident
● Only 7% of adults have accident and sickness cover that provides financial support for everyday mishaps.
● MetLife’s EverydayProtect product gives financial peace of mind
More than half (56%) of consumers have sustained an injury from an everyday accident, according to new research from protection and employee benefits provider MetLife UK.
MetLife’s research, which looks into the number of people who are not financially protected should they become unwell or have an accident, found that everyday misfortunes could be costing Brits more than £1,200 in their finances if they had to take time off work to care for themselves after sustaining an injury. 15% needed or would need £1,500 or more to make ends meet. 52% admit they’d need financial support if they had no choice but to take time off work due to an accident.
Almost one in three (32%) adults have sustained an injury from simply tripping or falling over. One in five (22%) sustained an injury from a road traffic accident, and another 19% from sporting activities, such as running, football or horse riding. Crucially, it is accidents that could happen in people’s everyday lives that could cause a significant injury and have financial consequences.
Causation of accident:
| Tripping / falling over | 32% |
| Road traffic accident | 22% |
| Sporting activity (e.g running, football, horse riding etc) | 19% |
| Falling down the stairs | 13% |
| Fall from a height (e.g a ladder) | 10% |
| Handling, lifting or carrying heavy items | 10% |
| Cooking | 8% |
| Gardening | 6% |
| Walking the dog | 6% |
| Using / working with machinery | 5% |
Looking at the types of injuries people have sustained, 50% have broken a bone, 21% have suffered from concussion, 14% have lost the use of their elbow, hip, shoulder, knee, ankle, or wrist. 10% have had a slipped disk from an accident, while 6% have experienced third-degree burns.
Encouragingly, 62% have some form of financial protection in place, but for the vast majority this means life insurance or similar rather than cover that will protect people from incidents that happen every day. Indeed, only 7% have personal injury cover and the same percentage have accident and sickness cover that provides financial support covering a range of injuries from broken bones to those that could have significant impact on their everyday life. And with 15% of adults having sustained an injury twice from an accident, and 20% thrice of or more, it highlights the importance of people having a form of cover.
MetLife also conducted research amongst 500 financial advisers who recommend and/or sell financial protection products to provide a holistic view of the protection market. It found that more than a third (35%) of advisers say their clients are only interested in financial protection once it’s too late and they need to make a claim (i.e when a problem has already struck). Almost a third (31%) of advisers also admit their clients only see benefits of traditional products like mortgage and life cover.
MetLife UK has simplified the protection process through its’ EverydayProtect offering, which supports UK adults in saying yes to their every day. It provides financial support and peace of mind in cases of accident or sickness. In 2023 MetLife paid almost 24,000 claims to customers, the majority for broken bones and short hospital stays of which many are linked to injuries.
Five levels of cover units are available to purchase, starting at just £10, depending on the individual’s – and their families – specific lifestyle and needs. This allows everyone to access a product on an affordable basis, so that everyone can have some cover for the things that may happen in day-to-day life.
Rich Horner, Head of Individual Protection at MetLife UK commented: “People don’t always think they need financial protection, or that life insurance does enough to protect their families. But we want to help people say yes to living, rather than only protecting themselves for dying. Our latest research shows that people really do need support protecting their every day. Accidents are frequent, but those mishaps can have a significant financial impact.
“Everyone deserves to be protected in those moments that matter to help them live the best version of life and enjoy the day to day. That’s why EverydayProtect is such an important product. It provides affordable financial support and covers injuries from broken bones to those that could have a significant impact on people’s lives.”
