"For advisers, this means greater confidence when discussing protection with clients and a smoother route from recommendation to cover."
- Andrew Doran - UnderwriteMe
UnderwriteMe's Protection Platform Pulse Report 2026 has revealed improvements in buy-now rates for some of the most commonly disclosed physical and mental health conditions.
Comparing Protection Platform data from 2024 with application data submitted throughout 2025 and the first half of 2026, the proportion of applicants receiving an immediate life cover decision for diabetes increased from up to 71% to up to 84%.
Similarly, buy-now rates for raised blood pressure also rose from up to 87% to up to 95%, cholesterol from up to 80% to up to 91% and depression, anxiety and stress increased from up to 90% to as high as 99% over the same time period.
The findings are based on anonymised and aggregated life, critical illness and income protection application data submitted through UnderwriteMe's Protection Platform across a range of insurers, including Beagle Street, Guardian, Holloway, LV=, Royal London, Scottish Widows, The Exeter, Virgin Money and Vitality.
Life cover applications accounted for 65% of submissions, unchanged from the previous report. Critical illness represented 23%, down from 25%, while income protection increased its share of applications from 10% to 12%, a rise of 20%.
Despite this progress, separate consumer research of 2,000 UK adults commissioned by UnderwriteMe for the report found that only 21% of adults were aware that many people with common health conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, depression or anxiety can now receive an immediate life insurance decision online, while 68% were not aware of this at all.
Awareness was particularly low among women, with 72% saying they were unaware compared to 65% of men.
The research further revealed that 38% of adults believe someone is more likely to be declined protection insurance following a diagnosis of a common physical or mental health condition, while 21% remain unsure.
However, 24% said they would be more likely to consider applying for protection insurance if insurers had improved their approach to common health conditions.
READ MORE: Broadstone calls on Autumn Budget to remove tax barriers regarding workforce health
The report also found that income protection is gaining momentum on the Protection Platform, with its share of applications increasing from 10% in 2024 to 12% in the latest reporting period, representing a 20% rise. Over the same period, income protection straight-through processing increased from 62% in 2024 to 64% in 2025 and 66% in the first half of 2026.
49% of UK workers said they would be interested in insuring their monthly income against being unable to work due to illness or injury. Interest rose to 66% among Gen Z workers compared with 38% of Gen X workers, while 14% of UK workers overall said they would be very interested in taking out this type of cover.
The report also revealed the gender split to be broadly balanced across life cover and critical illness applications, at 51% men and 49% women with life cover policies, and 51% women and 49% men for critical illness.
However, income protection remains more heavily weighted towards male applicants, with men accounting for 56% of applications compared to 44% of women.
Across the report's latest 18-month dataset, critical illness recorded the highest overall straight-through processing rate at 84%, compared with 83% for life cover and 64% for income protection.
"This year's Protection Platform Pulse Report highlights the significant progress being made across the protection market," Andrew Doran, CEO of UnderwriteMe, said.
"We are seeing more applicants with common physical and mental health conditions such as diabetes, cholesterol, depression, and anxiety receiving immediate underwriting decisions, demonstrating how insurers are continuing to refine their underwriting approaches and improve access to protection cover.
"For advisers, this means greater confidence when discussing protection with clients and a smoother route from recommendation to cover. However, despite these advances, consumer perceptions have not yet fully caught up.
"Many people still assume a health condition will make protection difficult to obtain when the reality is often very different."
"Closing that awareness gap represents a significant opportunity for the industry. By helping consumers better understand how underwriting has evolved, we can ensure more people access the protection they need, improve financial resilience in the UK and grow the market."
Jo Miller, managing director, IPTF, added: "The growth in income protection is highly encouraging and shows real progress in closing the protection gap. Increased adviser adoption, greater insurer participation and improved straight through-processing are making income protection easier to access and place, allowing advisers to focus on client value rather than process complexity.
"These trends suggest the market is moving in the right direction to make protection against loss of earnings more accessible for consumers and to build a more financially resilient population."
