The news from Empathy, who are entering the UK Life sector today;
Empathy, the leading technology company transforming the way people plan for and navigate life’s toughest moments, has announced their entry into the UK market today. Empathy’s new research report: ‘The Cost of Loss: The UK’s Bereavement Burden’, sheds light on the growing pressures facing UK families as they navigate loss, and highlights a clear opportunity for life insurers to strengthen their role in supporting customers when it matters most.
With the UK’s population living longer and more people juggling childcare, careers, and caring responsibilities for ageing parents, the ‘Sandwich Generation’ is expanding rapidly. Against this backdrop, expectations for compassionate, connected bereavement support are rising—presenting insurers with a chance to differentiate and build deeper trust with customers.
Bereavement Support Increasingly Influences Customer Choice
Many insurers have already taken meaningful steps to support families through loss. Empathy’s findings highlight rising expectations, and present a clear opportunity to build on this progress.
The research report reveals UK customers consider bereavement support as a deciding factor for their policy, with 57% of respondents choosing an insurer based on the specialised bereavement support they offer. This is even more profound amongst younger customers, with 72% of Millennials and 77% of Gen Z agreeing, showing a generational shift in attitude and expectation for bereavement support.
Life insurers who recognise this opportunity to expand and increase bereavement support stand to gain trust and expand business with the next generation of customers. Empathy’s technology-enabled, human-led services bridge this gap, helping firms deliver scalable, compassionate care to their policyholders and beneficiaries when it matters most.
“The UK insurance market is evolving rapidly. Individuals and their families are facing significant complexity and emotional strain, and insurers have a real opportunity to step into that gap with meaningful, human-centred support “, says Clare Dodd, Empathy’s UK General Manager. “Insurance was created to provide peace of mind, and leading providers now recognise that payouts alone aren’t enough and are already looking for new ways to support policyholders.”
The Personal Touch: A Critical Driver of Trust and Retention
The report shows a clear link between beneficiary experiences and future consumer behaviour. Positive experiences have a powerful impact: beneficiaries whose claims process exceeded expectations were 2.4x more likely to purchase their own life insurance policy from the same provider and twice as likely to buy additional products. Conversely, among those who were dissatisfied with their experience, 86% said they were unlikely to purchase a future policy from that insurer—underscoring how meaningful support during a vulnerable moment can influence long-term trust and loyalty.
To understand what shapes a positive experience, the survey examined where beneficiaries felt supported and where they felt more guidance could have helped. Two-thirds of beneficiaries reported feeling supported during the claims process. However, a meaningful one-third (33%) reported feeling under-supported during an emotionally difficult time, a figure that rose to 46% among Gen Z respondents.
Within these experiences, several areas for improvement emerged. For example, 20% of respondents said the communication they received during the process felt impersonal, with messages perceived as generic or templated rather than tailored to their loss—underscoring a clear desire for more personalised support. Additionally, 19% noted that post-claim follow-up or access to further information was limited—highlighting opportunities to extend support and engagement beyond the payout.
Empathy’s expansion into the UK comes at a moment when insurers are exploring enhanced ways to support individuals and families through loss, amid an ageing population, a growing ‘Sandwich Generation’, and rising expectations around bereavement care. Already supporting over 45 million policyholders across North America, Empathy brings established credibility and operational scale as it enters the UK market.
Ron Gura, Co-Founder & CEO of Empathy, says: “Launching in the UK is an important milestone for Empathy as we bring our mission to one of the world’s most forward-thinking insurance markets. Insurance is, at its foundation, an industry designed to protect people when it matters most. At Empathy, we believe support should be both practical and compassionate, easing the emotional and logistical burdens that follow a loss. Since 2020, we’ve supported millions across North America through the emotional, practical, and financial challenges of loss—and we’re excited to partner with UK leaders to elevate the standard of support available to families during these moments.”
Danny Rimer, Partner at Index Ventures added: “”We’re proud to back Empathy as they bring their transformative approach to the UK market. They’ve built something genuinely different: a service that combines deep empathy with practical guidance to meet families exactly where they are, with both expertise and heart. This kind of human-centred support has never been more essential. Empathy ensures that no one has to navigate grief and loss alone.”
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