The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics reveal a concerning trend: people in the UK are living longer yet spending fewer of those years in good health. Healthy life expectancy (HLE), the number of years individuals can expect to live in good or very good health, has now fallen to its lowest point in more than a decade.
Between 2022 and 2024, healthy life expectancy at birth dropped to 60.7 years for men and 60.9 years for women. These declines represent reductions of 1.8 years for men and 2.5 years for women compared with the 2019–2021 period. Although overall life expectancy has seen a modest recovery since the pandemic, these additional years are not lived in good health.
A growing proportion of later life is now spent managing illness, disability, or chronic conditions. For men, around 23% of life is spent in poor health, while for women the figure rises to 27%.
The decline in healthy life expectancy is not uniform across the UK. England retains the highest overall HLE, while Scotland records the lowest for men and Wales for women. Within England, a pronounced north–south divide persists. Regions in the South East enjoy the longest healthy lives, while the North East consistently records the shortest.
These inequalities become even clearer at local authority level. In Richmond upon Thames, residents can expect nearly 70 years of good health, while in Blackpool, the figure falls just above 50 years. The gap between the healthiest and least healthy areas now stands at nearly 15 years, the widest since comparable records began.
Healthy life expectancy is more than just a health statistic; it is a critical indicator of future care needs. As people spend more of their later years in poor health, they face higher risks of chronic disease, reduced mobility, cognitive decline, and increased dependence on carers.
Falling healthy life expectancy also signals rising demand for health and social care services. Individuals are likely to require more support with daily living, community-based care, rehabilitation, and long-term condition management. In many areas with low HLE, people may need support from their late 50s or early 60s.
Regions with the lowest healthy life expectancy—such as the North East, parts of Wales, and various post-industrial communities—are expected to experience the greatest strain on already stretched local authority budgets and care systems.
The widening gap in healthy life expectancy means that resources will need to be allocated strategically. Areas such as Blackpool or Merthyr Tydfil may face decades of elevated demand for care services when compared with wealthier areas like Richmond or Wokingham.
The continued fall in healthy life expectancy will have a significant and unavoidable impact on the rising cost of care across the UK. As people spend more years living with ill health, the duration and intensity of care required increases. This leads to greater demand for domiciliary care, residential placements, nursing support, and specialist interventions, all of which contribute to escalating care costs.
The rise in complex multimorbidity means that care is becoming more resource-intensive and expensive to deliver. Individuals with multiple chronic conditions often require coordinated care packages, frequent clinical oversight, and long-term management. These pressures amplify operational and staffing costs and place greater strain on local authorities who already face limited budgets.
The decline in healthy life expectancy presents a significant challenge in the valuation and management of personal injury claims. As individuals spend more years in poor health, the duration and complexity of care required after a serious injury increases, often leading to larger and more costly future care claims.
A reduced healthy life expectancy baseline means claimants may require formal care earlier and for longer periods. This places upward pressure on future care multipliers and increases the likelihood of claims for extensive and long-term care packages. Insurers face heightened uncertainty in reserve forecasting and must rely on robust medico-legal evidence to challenge life-expectancy assumptions where appropriate.
At the same time, the cost of care continues to rise due to workforce shortages, higher wage expectations, and increased demand for skilled carers. These factors inflate hourly rates, agency fees, and specialist care costs, directly increasing settlement values. As a result, insurers must adopt proactive case management strategies, carefully scrutinise care proposals, and engage early with experts to ensure that claimed care is both clinically justified and cost appropriate.
Ultimately, falling healthy life expectancy and rising care costs increase long-term financial exposure for defendant insurers, underscoring the need for strategic reserving, evidence-based assessments, and vigilant claims handling.
David Burn - Care & Rehab SIG Lead
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