A Critical Need: Interest in Critical Illness Insurance surges in wake of pandemic
By Eastbridge Consulting Group, Inc.
Not all products are created equal when it comes to the voluntary benefits industry’s continuing recovery from the pandemic. Life and disability insurance are still the market’s mainstays, but coming up fast on the outside are supplemental health products. Critical illness, hospital indemnity and accident all saw double-digit sales growth in 2022, outpacing the industry’s overall 5.4% increase. Critical illness in particular has become a star performer, leading all other lines of business with a 15% sales surge last year. It was the highest sales increase in the past five years, driving new sales premium to a record high $949 million. In fact, 2022 was the second straight year of strong growth for critical illness, following a 9% leap the year before. The pandemic can claim much of the credit for these results, driving a greater understanding of the need for critical illness insurance as employees became more aware of the actual cost of a serious illness.
