The Prevention Advantage Guide 2026

Stop paying for sickness. Start preventing it. The guide to the evolution of Group Income Protection. 

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Introducing The Prevention Advantage Guide

With UK sickness absence at a 15-year high and presenteeism quietly draining productivity, the message from the government's Keep Britain Working review couldn't be clearer: workplace health is no longer just an HR issue, it's a mission-critical risk for your clients and the UK economy. Waiting for people to get ill before stepping in isn't an option anymore.

The Prevention Advantage is our joint guide with YuLife on how Group Income Protection is evolving, from a financial safety net for when sickness strikes, into a proactive model that helps stop sickness happening in the first place.

It draws on independent research from CIPD, ONS, The NHS, GRiD, and Deloitte, MetLife UK's own claims and early intervention data, and a 26-month randomised controlled trial conducted by YuLife and the University of Essex, part-funded by Innovate UK.

The result is a clear, evidence-based view of where workplace health is heading, and how to position your clients for it. 

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What you'll find inside The Prevention Advantage Guide

This guide breaks new ground in understanding workplace protection, including:

  • The real cost of sickness absence to UK businesses
  • Why traditional GIP is no longer enough on its own and what the next
    generation looks like
  • Outcome data from the only peer-reviewed randomised controlled trial on
    gamified workplace wellbeing in the UK
  • The ROI of prevention-led GIP, with a worked example for a 25-person
    business
  • A four-point checklist your clients can use to review their current GIP at
    renewal 
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A proactive strategy for your people’s health isn’t a perk, it’s one of the highest-return investments you can make.
Tal Gilbert
CEO, YuLife
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9.4 days

Average sickness absence per UK employee in 2025 — the highest in over 15 years. Source: CIPD / Simplyhealth, September 2025

£48,935

Annual sickness cost for a typical 25-person business — before presenteeism is factored in. Source: MetLife UK analysis, based on CIPD and Censuswide data

48%

Of annual sickness cost can be addressed with a prevention-led GIP model for a 25-person business. Source: The Prevention Advantage Guide, 2026

The Prevention Advantage gives me something genuinely different to put in front of clients at renewal. Most GIP conversations get stuck on price, this one starts with absence cost, prevention ROI, and what the policy actually delivers day to day. It's the most useful piece of adviser content I've had this year.

The Prevention-Led GIP Model

MetLife UK and YuLife Combining forces to deliver a new insurance model

We've joined forces with leading insurtech provider, YuLife, to deliver Group Income Protection as it should be, with engaging health prevention and gold standard early intervention providing much more than just a financial safety net for long-term sickness.

There's never been a more compelling time for preventative benefits. 

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Driving employee engagement with YuLife

YuLife’s innovative technology makes healthy living fun with rewards for walking, cycling and mindfulness, and incentivises participation with friendly competition and gamification. Employees love YuLife’s gamified experience with 1 in 2 users engaging with the app every single day. 

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Yunity intelligence layer

The intelligence layer behind the integrated model, surfacing early health signals from everyday app activity and connecting employees to Virtual GP, EAP, and clinical pathways before issues escalate. Driving 2.4x more Virtual GP usage and 4x more EAP engagement.

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