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Turning Insight into Action
The UK Disability Insurance Pilot
Swiss Re launched a UK disability insurance pilot to test whether metabolic health interventions could meaningfully influence claims outcomes.
An internal claims deep dive revealed a critical insight: long-term claimants frequently experience complex, interrelated conditions driven by metabolic dysfunction. With the problem clearly defined, Swiss Re partnered with a clinically aligned external provider (Dr Campbell Murdoch and Combe Grove) to deliver a novel, nutrition-first, evidence-based programme focused on improving insulin resistance through sustainable lifestyle change.
The pilot was fully integrated into claims management. Claims assessors were trained to identify metabolic risk and triage suitable cases. Eligible claimants were offered either a one-week residential or a 12-week virtual programme of one-to-one and group sessions, led by health coaches and dietitians, with clinical oversight and integrated vocational rehabilitation. Both pathways included 12 months of follow-up to support long-term behaviour change.
The intervention focused on practical application, covering low carbohydrate nutrition, movement, sleep, mindset, and environment, and equipping participants to navigate real-world challenges such as work routines, travel, social situations, and setbacks. This claimant-centred approach has driven strong engagement and in turn, increased assessor awareness of and confidence in addressing lifestyle-related conditions.
Results and Implications: From Claimant Outcomes to Global Relevance
Engagement with the programme has been high, with 86% of eligible claimants accepting participation when offered alongside standard usual claims management. Many participants have already experienced meaningful improvements in health, functional capacity, and wellbeing.
Among the 14 claimants referred since mid-2024 who have completed the initial intensive phase (ie, either the one-week residential or 12-week virtual programme):
Transformative Health Results
View Summary
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Average weight loss of 7.2kg (15.9lb)
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Waist circumference reductions of up to 10cm (4in)
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Reduced reliance on medications for various chronic illnesses
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Reversal of pre-diabetes and diabetes in some cases
Five claimants have already returned to work, some before completing the full 12-month programme, releasing over £790k ($1.1m) in claims reserves at a total programme cost (for all participants) of £32k ($43k). Two further claimants are preparing to return to work in early 2026. These outcomes are particularly significant given that many participants had exhausted conventional treatment pathways and would typically be expected to remain long-term claimants.
Claire’s Story
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Claire (*not her real name), a 43-year-old team manager in an office-based financial services role, was off work due to the symptoms and functional impact of Crohn’s disease. After joining the programme, she lost 9% of her body weight, reduced her pain, reversed pre-diabetes, and improved her wellbeing and mobility. Claire returned to work with complementary specialist vocational rehabilitation (VR) support, demonstrating the transformative potential of integrated metabolic health and VR interventions.
A parallel staff metabolic health pilot delivered similarly strong engagement and outcomes, especially with the target population: those colleagues presenting with some evidence of insulin resistance. This reinforces the relevance of metabolic health well before claim stage and validates the approach within corporate wellbeing and group insurance settings.
Beyond the UK disability context, the implications are wide-ranging. The same metabolic mechanisms drive experience across critical illness, total permanent disability, and mortality products. For insurers, this opens opportunities across the value chain, globally — from more nuanced underwriting, more sophisticated risk stratification and revised morbidity assumptions, to improved claims durations and claimant outcomes and new prevention-focused product offerings.
Global Relevance:
Reflecting on the US market perspective, Kimberly Poulopoulos, Head of Mortality Innovation & Transformation in the US, notes that:
The UK pilot provides valuable data on engagement and outcomes across different populations, creating a strong foundation for broader application, including mortality. In the US, we’ve seen programmes demonstrate clear improvements in key cardiovascular risk factors and reductions in medication costs, but the take-up of metabolic health programmes offered by life insurers isn’t yet clear. That’s why we’re keen to partner on research within in-force books, where reinsurers, insurers, insureds and governments can all benefit from healthier ageing and increased longevity.
