Insurance Outlook Vol. 20

Group Personal Accident (GPA) Insurance, once considered a compliance formality, is undergoing a quiet transformation within progressive organisations. Employers are increasingly positioning it as a vital tool for reinforcing their commitment to employee welfare, embedding it into broader compensation strategies rather than treating it as a standalone, transactional benefit. This signals a shift from viewing insurance as a corporate obligation to leveraging it as a human-centric promise of care. 

This report broadly explores:

• Reasons for offering and coverage adequacy assessment
• Integration with other employee benefit programmes and use of data analytics
• Roadblocks in popularising GPA & communication perspective

Is compliance taking a backseat?

66% of employers now offer GPA primarily to strengthen employee welfare

For years, Group Personal Accident (GPA) Insurance has been treated as a standard HR offering, often seen through the lens of compliance or peer benchmarking. But emerging data signals a paradigm shift. A surprising 66% of employers now say the primary reason for offering GPA is to enhance employee welfare and the safety net, not regulatory necessity. This shift from process-led compliance to protection-led empathy is redefining how organisations care for their people. Statutory or regulatory reasons (56%) and industry standards (54%) still hold weight,

but they have been overtaken by a more human-centric motivation: protecting lives, not just managing liabilities. This is reflective of a broader evolution in HR strategy, where the workforce is no longer viewed as a resource to insure but as a community to protect.

The significance of GPA as a strategic tool is further cemented by the fact that nearly half of all surveyed employers (48%) see it as part of their overall compensation and benefits philosophy. In a competitive job market, especially in operational, on-ground or decentralised roles, GPA is fast emerging as a differentiator.

According to Deloitte’s 2023 “Future of Work and Rewards” study, employees now assess job offers and existing employers, not only based on salary but on how well they are protected when life goes wrong.

Yet the design of GPA policies often fails to reflect this strategic intention. While 40% of employers offer GPA to all employees across levels, an equal 40% restrict coverage only to permanent staff, excluding segments such as third-party workers, gig staff and temporary employees.

Only 14% of companies cover field staff, sales teams or high-risk roles, showing a gap between policy intent and actual exposure.

The way adequacy is determined also reveals varying levels of maturity. A healthy 60% of organisations assess coverage based on job role and risk categorisation, aligning with global best practices. However, 22% still provide standard cover amounts without deeper analysis, which can result in underinsured segments or irrelevant protection.

At the same time, India’s workforce is evolving. The NITI Aayog 2022 report estimated over 7.7 million gig workers in the country, expected to rise to 23.5 million by 2030. Most of them lack institutional protection despite contributing to business continuity.

GPA could serve as a cost-effective yet meaningful inclusion to safeguard this segment, supporting not only the individual but the enterprise’s reputation and operational stability. Ultimately, GPA needs to move from being an invisible back-end policy to a front-line pillar of workforce strategy. It offers a powerful opportunity for companies to demonstrate tangible benefits, especially in India’s diverse and high-risk employment ecosystem.

Strategic recommendations

1. Expand coverage to non-traditional workforce segments. Include gig, contract and third-party staff where operational dependency exists. Proactively covering these workers enhances social licence, reduces legal exposure and strengthens vendor ecosystems.
2. Integrate GPA with workplace risk mapping. Move from blanket coverage to risk-indexed insurance: combining job role, location risk score, travel frequency and accident propensity using internal incident data or public datasets (e.g., NCRB accident zones), leverage predictive analytics to adjust coverage dynamically, ensuring relevance and adequacy.
3. Communicate GPA as part of the EVP (Employee Value Proposition) Don't just provide GPA, make it visible and meaningful. Use onboarding programs, manager briefings and internal campaigns to position GPA as a core pillar of employee protection. Share real-life case studies or claim outcomes to reinforce its value in moments that matter.

Standalone no more?

80% of employers now integrate or overlap GPA with other benefits, but gaps still persist

The role of Group Personal Accident (GPA) Insurance is evolving not just in intent but in how it structurally fits within the overall employee benefits ecosystem. 12% of organisations treat GPA as a standalone benefit today, while 80% report either full or partial integration with other programmes like Group Mediclaim (GMC), Workmen’s Compensation (WC) or Employee Assistance Programmes (EAP).

This signals an emerging shift toward benefit convergence, where accident protection is seen not in isolation but as one part of a broader protection and wellness framework.

However, partial integration reported by 42% raises questions around duplication, coverage clarity and gaps. When overlaps are not clearly mapped or communicated, they may cause confusion during the claims process. Employees may not know which policy covers what scenario and employers may risk over-insurance in some areas while leaving exposure in others unchecked. This disconnect becomes particularly evident when one considers that only 38% of employers report a fully integrated structure, which typically allows for shared data, better analytics and seamless employee experiences.

Despite this growing complexity, the rigour of GPA policy evaluation is still uneven. While 44% of employers benchmark their GPA annually across pricing, coverage and features, another 32% do it only every 2–3 years and 18% restrict reviews to price-led renewals.

A small but concerning 6% rarely or never benchmark their plans. This inconsistent review cadence could result in outdated coverage, missed enhancements or uncompetitive premiums, especially in a workforce environment that is increasingly mobile, diverse and exposed to new risks.

Equally telling is how organisations use or don’t use data in GPA policy design. Only 34% report extensive data use, such as reviewing claims, loss ratios or feedback before policy design. The majority, 52%, describe their approach as moderate, meaning some data is reviewed, but decisions are not deeply data-driven. A significant 10% rely largely on external broker or insurer inputs and 4% admit decisions are entirely ad hoc, reflecting a reactive rather than strategic approach.

These patterns suggest that while the intent to integrate and optimise GPA coverage exists, execution often lacks depth, clarity or insight. The result is a benefit that exists on paper but lacks the power to deliver value when needed most. A GPA policy has the potential to bridge the financial and emotional vulnerability gap during unforeseen events, especially in roles where physical exposure or fieldwork is high. But for it to do so effectively, it must be designed as part of a deliberate strategy, not treated as a plug-and-play policy renewed out of habit. When organisations don’t fully align GPA design with actual workforce needs or existing benefit structures, they risk offering a protection plan that looks comprehensive but isn’t. 

Strategic recommendations

1. Conduct a coverage map audit to identify overlaps and gaps Start with a structural mapping of all employee protection benefits like GPA, GMC, Workmen's Comp, EAP, etc. to understand where overlaps may dilute impact or where gaps may leave employees vulnerable. This audit can also flag inefficiencies in premium spend. A well-structured map reduces ambiguity at claim stage and ensures each benefit plays a distinct role.
2. Institute a 12-month review cycle regardless of renewal dynamics Benchmarking shouldn't only be driven by renewal or price fluctuations. Workforce risk profiles, claim trends and benefit expectations evolve every year. Even if premiums don't spike, a 12-month review ensures policy relevance, competitive positioning and timely upgrades in line with changing risk environments.
3. Treat GPA as a people-centric promise, not a paper policy Move away from administrative decision-making. Ask what kind of safety net your employees genuinely need. Would your sales manager's family be financially secure if something happened on a work trip? Would your gig workers feel seen if they were covered? Designing GPA around lived realities and not legacy structures is what makes it a real differentiator.

What’s the point of protection if no one knows it exists?

52% of employers say employees are unaware of their GPA benefit

Despite the strong intent behind offering Group Personal Accident (GPA) coverage, its real impact is often lost in translation. More than half of employers (52%) report lack of employee awareness as their biggest challenge when it comes to GPA, suggesting that a large number of employees either don’t know they’re covered or don’t understand how it helps them.

The problem is compounded by other issues: 42% of employers cite insufficient coverage or exclusions and 30% point to delays or complexity in claim processing. These operational hurdles (while solvable) undermine the emotional and functional promise that GPA coverage is supposed to represent. Only 18% cite budget as a barrier, showing that while companies invest in GPA, they often neglect the employee experience around it.

This is a missed opportunity. According to McKinsey’s 2023 research on workforce well-being, employees who perceive their employer as being proactive about health and safety are 2.7 times more likely to report higher engagement and retention. GPA, when communicated well and executed smoothly, can become one of the most visible ways to demonstrate such care.

Yet, 44% of employers say GPA is only covered during onboarding or periodic benefit sessions and just 22% run structured, ongoing communication programs. Meanwhile, 10% admit to minimal or no communication at all. As a result, a benefit designed to provide security ends up being unseen, underused or misunderstood.

Harvard Business Review’s 2021 research on employee communication notes that “even the most well-designed benefit programmes fail if employees don’t perceive them to be relevant or accessible.” The study goes on to argue that effective internal communication must be continuous, conversational and designed around employee personas and not just policy briefs.

Ultimately, GPA should be treated as a high-trust asset, not a low-visibility checkbox. If protection is promised but not clearly delivered, it damages trust instead of building it. The issue isn’t whether GPA is a good idea. The issue is whether it’s visible, accessible and meaningful to the people it’s supposed to protect.

Strategic recommendations

1. Build a multi-touchpoint GPA communication calendar Don't limit GPA communication to onboarding or a once-a-year mailer. Integrate it into team huddles, digital banners, WhatsApp updates and field staff briefs. Use micro-content like 2-minute videos, real-life testimonials and FAQs in regional languages. Repetition builds recognition. Recognition builds value.
2. Audit the claim experience from an employee lens Go beyond metrics and re-enact the claim process from an employee's perspective. What feels unclear, frustrating or delayed? Map the journey, simplify it and create a one-click claims guide or helpline. A smooth claim builds more goodwill than even the best benefit announcement.
3. Assign GPA ownership to a strategic HR or risk team Move GPA out of transactional renewal cycles and into the hands of strategic workforce planners. A cross-functional owner ensures the benefit evolves with talent demographics, risk exposure and employee expectations not just premium quotes.