The headline figure for total payouts rose by £120m, to £1.6bn paid out in claims in 2017, but a change in the way group income protection figures are reported accounted for £79m of the increase, according to Grid. Grid previously took a snapshot of claims in payment at the end of the year but now includes claims starting and stopping in the same year. Group income protection policies paid out a total of £466.5m, an increase of £107.8m, or 30 per cent, on 2016, £79m of which was down to the new accounting approach.

The figures show that 4,944 people were helped back to work after a period of sick leaveand 25,906 UK families were helped to avoid financial hardship after the death, illness, accident or disability of a loved one.

Group life assurance policies paid out total benefits to the value of £1.067bn – on a par with 2016, while group critical illness policies paid out benefits totalling £84.3m, an increase of £12.7m over 2016.