Cost of living crisis has led to a reduction in new sales, with affordability concerns remaining
The rising cost of living has made it difficult for providers to gain new sales at a time when more people are cautious about entering into long-term financial commitments. With a large number ruling out cover for affordability reasons, this does raise the need for more policy options at a lower cost that offer at least a basic level of cover.
A new marketing push is needed to display relevance to consumers
Over a quarter of consumers think CI is not a product that is relevant to them, possibly reflecting a misunderstanding of the product or overconfidence in financial resilience. The potentially high financial costs associated with suffering and recovering from a severe illness need to be highlighted by brands and the use of real-life examples and case studies could help them achieve this.
Promotion of health and wellbeing product add-ons will attract target market
With younger consumers most likely to consider owning critical illness cover in the future, as well as using cover to help pay for medical/treatment bills, providers have an opportunity to engage about how protection insurance can help them at a time when the NHS is under severe pressure. Social media advertising and influencer marketing could be used to promote CI to this target group.
Key Issues Covered in this Report:
- The size of the critical illness cover market and a five-year forecast for new business
- Key drivers for the critical illness cover market
- Ownership and consideration of critical illness cover among UK adults
- Barriers to critical illness cover ownership
- Benefits of having critical illness cover
- Critical illness cover information sources
- Consumer knowledge of critical illness cover
- The influence of product add-ons on provider choice
Meet The Expert
This report is written by Lewis Cone, Associate Director – Financial Services at Mintel. Lewis joined Mintel in May 2013 having graduated from the University of Southampton with a 2.1 BSc (Hons) degree in Economics and writes a range of industrial reports, from occupational health to the house building market.
The number of new policies has stalled, but sales could be boosted by highlighting the value of product add-ons to the large number considering taking out cover.
Lewis Cone
Associate Director – Financial Services
Collapse All
-
Executive Summary
- Key issues covered in this Report
- Opportunities for the critical illness cover market
- Market dynamics and outlook
- Graph 1: new critical illness cover contracts, by market segment, 2019-23
- Graph 2: channels to market, by market segmentation, 2023
- Graph 3: market shares of the top five providers of new individual critical illness cover, 2022
- What consumers want and why
- Graph 4: protection insurance product ownership, 2024
- Graph 5: barriers to taking out a critical illness cover policy, 2024
- Graph 6: perceived main benefits of having a critical illness cover policy, 2024
- Graph 7: critical illness cover information sources, 2024
- Graph 8: consumer knowledge of critical illness cover, 2024
- Graph 9: product add-ons that would influence choice of critical illness cover provider, 2024
- Innovation and marketing
-
Market Dynamics
- Market size
- Graph 10: market size for critical illness cover sector – value of new premiums, 2019-23
- Graph 11: number of new contracts for critical illness cover, 2019-23
- Market segmentation
- Graph 12: new critical illness cover contracts, by market segment, 2019-23
- Market forecast
- Channels to market
- Graph 13: total new protection contracts with critical illness cover, by advice channel, 2023
- Graph 14: channels to market, by market segmentation, 2023
- Claims experience
- Graph 15: number of claims paid, by reason for claim, 2022
- Market share
- Macro-economic factors
- Graph 16: GDP, 2021-23
- Graph 17: CPI inflation, 2020-24
- Graph 18: Bank of England Base Rate changes, 2017-23
- Graph 19: household financial wellbeing index, 2019-24
- Graph 20: “Have you been affected by any of these issues over the last two months? Please select all that apply.”, 2024
- Social and regulatory factors
- Graph 21: total number of people waiting for NHS services in England, 2020-24
- Graph 22: residential property transactions over £40,000, seasonally-adjusted, 2019-23
-
What Consumers Want and Why
- Protection product ownership
- Graph 23: protection insurance product ownership, 2024
- Graph 24: critical illness cover ownership, by housing tenure, 2024
- Consideration of critical illness cover
- Graph 25: likelihood of consumers to consider critical illness cover in the future, 2019-24
- Graph 26: likelihood of consumers to consider critical illness cover in the future, by protection product ownership, 2024
- Graph 27: likelihood of consumers to consider critical illness cover, by housing tenure, 2024
- Barriers to critical illness cover ownership
- Graph 28: barriers to taking out a critical illness cover policy, 2024
- Graph 29: barriers to taking out a critical illness cover policy, by financial situation, 2024
- Key benefits of having critical illness cover
- Graph 30: perceived main benefits of having a critical illness cover policy, 2024
- Critical illness cover information providers
- Graph 31: critical illness cover information sources, 2024
- Consumer knowledge of critical illness cover
- Graph 32: consumer knowledge of critical illness cover, 2024
- Product add-ons and choosing a provider
- Graph 33: product add-ons that would influence choice of critical illness cover provider, 2024
-
Innovation And Marketing Trends
- Competitive strategies
- Launch activity and innovation
-
Appendix
- Report scope and definitions
- Methodology
- Market forecast data and methodology
Market Intelligence Made Easier With Mintel
The first Mintel Market Intelligence report was published over 50 years ago. Since then, we have provided our unique insights and understanding of consumers, innovation and global markets to thousands of customers worldwide. Here’s why our customers rely on Mintel:
- Gain a comprehensive, 360-degree view of the market: Mintel reports blend consumer research, market forecasts, product innovation tracking, and competitive analysis, allowing businesses to see every angle of their industry and identify new opportunities quickly.
- Make decisions with confidence, grounded in robust data: Each report draws on up-to-date, reliable information from trusted sources and industry experts, ensuring your strategies are based on solid evidence rather than speculation.
- Benefit from expert analysis and practical recommendations: Mintel’s reports are written by experienced analysts who interpret complex data and provide clear, actionable insights you can trust to guide your next moves.
- Stay ahead with actionable intelligence on market trends and consumer behaviour: By combining fresh research with long-term market monitoring, our reports help businesses anticipate changes and adapt strategically. So you’re prepared to make informed decisions and drive growth.
What goes into a Mintel Market Intelligence Report?
Curious about how a Market Intelligence report comes together? We like to think of it as building a detailed puzzle. We start with individual pieces: data from consumers, market statistics, industry trends, and online conversations. Then our expert analysts add world-class human insight and industry knowledge. The pieces are assembled to reveal a clear, comprehensive picture of a market.
The Four Pillars of Our Research
We use a combination of four main research methods when creating our reports, each adding a valuable perspective:
- Consumer Research: Direct surveys with real people, giving us clear, current insights into what people think and do.
- Desk Research: In-depth review of trusted data sources. We use this rich database, plus powerful internal tools that track new products and market sizes, to detect trends and guide forecasts.
- Trade Research: Insights from conversations with industry experts. Their real-world experience helps us understand what’s happening behind the scenes.
- Brand and Social Media Research: Analysis of online opinions and trends. This lets us spot trends, measure brand sentiment, and capture feedback in real time, adding further depth to our research.
Bringing It All Together
Each of these four pillars provides a different piece of the puzzle. Consumer research tells us what customers think, desk research provides the factual framework, trade research offers an insider’s view, and social media analysis reveals public sentiment.
Our expert analysts are skilled in weaving these diverse data streams together. They apply a range of quantitative and qualitative analysis techniques to uncover the deeper story, connecting the dots to deliver clear, actionable insights. This comprehensive, multi-layered process is how we transform raw data into a market intelligence report you can trust to inform your most important business decisions.
£ 2,195 (Excl.Tax)
-
Download today with instant access
Pay via credit card or invoice (net 30 payment terms)
-
Multiple formats provided
We send a PDF, Powerpoint and Excel Databook straight to your inbox. An interactive version of the report is also available on our online platform
-
Interactive databook included
Focus on the data that matters most to you with a customisable databook avaliable on our platform
-
Save 20% when you purchase two or more reports
Offer available for this month only
Next Starts Here
Whatever your business needs, we have the solution. From market intelligence reports to customised growth strategies.
Learn moreTrusted by global industry leaders
Mintel helps us when we want to know something quickly – it provides fast answers to our questions. If we need to get a view of what’s going on in a particular market it’s very useful.
When carrying out background research, I find Mintel an excellent starting point.
The fact that it covers so many markets is a big plus for me– instead of having to buy specialist products in each area we are interested in, especially when we only require a brief view on a particular market, we can go to Mintel for help as a one-stop shop. I find Mintel a useful and valuable resource.
Ben Zeidler, Director - Research and Analytics, Tenth Wave
We’ve found it so useful working more closely with Mintel. They helped support our recent flagship event for our top suppliers by providing a really unique viewpoint on the future of online retailing.
Nick Carroll from their Retail Team was also an excellent panelist, sharing useful and actionable consumer insights. We definitely look forward to working with Mintel again on future projects.
Zac Steele, E-Commerce Trading Development Manager, Waitrose & Partners
There is no question that Mintel is the go-to resource for the best quality market research, but I did not think it was an affordable option for Abacus Marketing to consider. As a small marketing agency, we only work with a few new clients each year.
However, we have a very high-end consultative approach to our work, so we really do need a partner like Mintel to provide the big agency experience we are always aiming to deliver. Our clients come from an incredibly diverse range of industry sectors, so we obviously need access to market research reports from a very wide spectrum of marketplaces – and that is precisely what we got.
Stephen Taylor-Brown, Managing Director, Abacus
At Jackman, we believe that powerful strategies are based on human insight. Mintel’s leading-edge reports and insights into consumer attitudes and behaviors are an important input as we develop and execute strategy.
Alana Gavin, VP Research and Insights, Jackman
Mintel is really good for getting a handle on a particular category quickly. If we are working on a new business pitch in an area we don’t have much experience in, it’s a brilliant way to get up to speed with what’s going on, what’s changing and what the key trends are in any category.
It’s very rare now that anyone will plough through a 200-page report – that’s why the summaries are really useful. We know they are backed up by a lot of detail, so if you need to go into something in more depth you know the information will be all there for you.
Pauline Robson, Managing Partner, Mediacom
Next Starts Here
Whatever your business needs, we have the solution. From market intelligence reports to customised growth strategies.
Learn more
