MetLife research reveals how everyday incidents – including those involving children – can create significant financial strain for UK households
Everyday accidents and illnesses are climbing across the UK, with MetLife's Everyday Risk Report 2025 showing a 7% increase in hospital admissions and more than 26 million A&E attendances over the past year. Behind those numbers potentially lie greater financial pressure – often from what appear to be minor incidents.
"The protection market has always focused on serious illness and life events," says Phil Jeynes, Head of Individual Protection at MetLife UK. "But the report shows that small, everyday setbacks – a broken bone, a hospital stay, a common illness – can also have significant financial impact."
Making children part of the conversation
Metlife's Everyday Risk Report 2025 highlights a notable rise in hospital admissions among children, driven by everything from falls and playground injuries to allergic reactions and respiratory illnesses. The report also revealed a 10% increase in child-related claims year on year – with cancer now representing the highest number of child sickness claims.
With over half of UK adults lacking any protection, and nearly a third of parents reporting they've had to take more than a week off work due to a child's accident or illness, the findings expose a growing protection gap at the centre of family life.
"Some of the statistics in the Everyday Risk Report 2025 will not be a surprise for parents – for example, over 6000 children were admitted to hospital due to a foreign item entering their body," says Jeynes. "But the associated cost for these visits, parking at hospital or additional childcare expenses, can really start to add up."
Everyday risks and financial resilience
The report also paints a wider picture of financial vulnerability. While everyday accidents are up, savings and resilience are down: 42% of households say they couldn't cover three months of expenses if their income stopped, and 21% have less than £1,000 set aside.
The findings point to a widespread lack of financial resilience: higher living costs, shrinking savings and more frequent everyday mishaps mean even short-term absences can push households into difficulty. In this context, accessible protection that responds from day one becomes essential.
Broadening the protection conversation
For advisers, the Everyday Risk Report underscores the need to widen discussions beyond traditional life and critical illness products. Everyday protection, designed to support clients in the event of a minor accident or hospital stay, can fill the gaps left by conventional policies.
"Protection isn't only about worst-case scenarios," says Jeynes. "It's about helping families stay financially stable through the bumps and bruises that happen all the time."
For advisers, the opportunity lies in being able to have conversations that put things into context for clients and having statistics on hand that can highlight how protection supports family life, not just against life's biggest risks, but the everyday ones too.
