A new study has found that just 15 per cent of UK employees are insured against health conditions preventing them from working, with only 7 per cent receiving health cover as part of their employee benefits.
The research by MetLife revealed that only 12 per cent of those aged 55 and over are covered for a lengthy period off work through ill-health .
In terms of gender, a fifth (20 per cent) of men have insurance in place compared to 11 per cent of women, despite the research finding that both men and women workers were equally likely to have suffered ill-health at 21 per cent. Of those, however, 25 per cent of men lost their jobs compared to 16 per cent for women.
MetLife also found regional variations, with workers in the North reporting the highest rate of long-term illness at 28 per cent – more than double the figure for those living in London (13 per cent).
But despite having the lowest long-term illness rate, London had the highest insurance cover, with 19 per cent of workers based in the capital protected against bad health .
Commenting on the findings, Stephanie Baillie, employee benefits director at MetLife UK said: “Understandably, people are being forced to make tough financial choices as their incomes are squeezed.”
“Yet this only makes good quality health insurance more crucial as many consumers would be left unable to support themselves in the situation where they lost their livelihood through illness.”