Group risk providers made payouts to 891 sets of dependents totalling over £93m in 2020, just 11 per cent of all working age deaths – meaning a majority of workers’ deaths saw no employer payouts.

Figures from Group Risk Development show 884 lump sum death benefit claims, plus the capitalised value of seven dependants’ pension claims where Covid-19 has been recorded as the primary or secondary cause of death on the death certificate or reported on the claim form.

The average lump sum death benefit payment was £100,320 and the average capitalised value of the dependants’ pensions was £617,771.

According to the ONS, there were 7,961 deaths of working age people that were attributable to Covid-19 registered between 9 March and 28 December 2020, which means the group risk industry supported just 11 per cent – one in nine – of these grieving families.

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