Income Protection

Personal Group has made changes to its Voluntary Group Income Protection (VGIP) plan, increasing the maximum benefit and improving its occupation definition to Own Occupation.

One in four (23%) of the 325,000 newly diagnosed cancer patients in the UK - an estimated 70,000 patients each year - lack support from family and friends during their treatment and recovery, according to Macmillan Cancer Support.

Legal & General has partnered with a national charity to help employers minimise absences due to staff mental health problems.

Aviva has reported concern about long waiting times for mental health treatments despite the government having pledged to provide greater access by 2015.

An employee benefits advisers has called on insurers to address neglected workplace mental health issues, by building better group income protection rehabilitation and support programmes.

Group income protection premiums could soar by as much as 17% with minimum rises predicted to hit at least 7% this year, according to Capita Employee Benefits.

It was great news when the Coalition Government decided to look at what it could do to improve Britain's sickness absence record. It is an area of public policy that is important to get right if Britain is going to win the global race for business.

Protection specialist and former Associate Director of the ABI, Nick Kirwan has joined the executive team of the Income Protection Task Force.

Productivity and motivation in the workplace have increased for 9 out of ten companies that introduced health benefits this year, Aviva has reported.

Ensuring the right diagnosis for a medical condition will be crucial for employee health and employer private medical insurance costs, Canada Life has said.