With close to a million workers off sick for more than a month every year, the insurer found that 52% of workers worry about their income if they became too ill to work.

Statutory Sick Pay provides employees with £92.05 a week for up to 28 weeks. However, two fifths of those who were surveyed by Research Without Borders, on behalf of Royal London, did not think that this was enough to live on if a person was off work sick for more than a year.

Royal London pointed out that different companies have different policies. However, a quarter of respondents mistakenly believed that sick pay policies were the same across all companies and industries. For example, some employers offer contractual sick pay, which is more generous than statutory sick pay.

“With a million workers off sick for more than a month, it’s important to think about how you would manage financially and make plans, so you do not have the added financial worry if you were to fall ill,” said Jennifer Gilchrist, protection specialist at Royal London.