L&G
UX Lead: Andy Lewis
Senior Consultant: Digby Flitton
Agile Developer: Rich Plastow
#UX Design #PRODUCT DESIGN
#EXPERIMENTATION #UI DESIGN
From canteen testing to trade shows: Proving a new insurance model in five sprints
Legal & General wanted to address low employee engagement with workplace benefits by developing a customizable group protection scheme. Historically, corporate insurance packages offered a one-size-fits-all model that left staff feeling disconnected from their cover. The aim of this project was to establish whether a self-service digital product could empower employees to tailor their cover levels while proving to HR leaders that the solution was commercially viable and technically feasible.
As the UX Lead, I helped shape the product strategy, create functional prototypes, and drive multi-stage testing. Working in a lean, agile setup, we validated technical mechanics using interconnected sliders, developed a standalone testing brand called EmPro, and took the proposition directly to HR decision-makers. The project generated strong initial interest, landed high-profile leads such as Virgin Money, and created the blueprint eventually built and launched in partnership with Salary Finance.
Proving feasibility with functional prototyping
To make employee customisable group protection work, every person needed the freedom to split a fixed budget pot across different insurance types (such as life cover, income protection, and critical illness). Designing this required building interactive wireframes with interconnected, dependent sliders, where adjusting one category dynamically adjusted the remaining available budget. Working side-by-side with a lean agile developer, we validated that these complex user flows could be translated into an intuitive, self-explanatory interface.
Testing early UX with employees
Before testing with external audiences, we ran internal feasibility tests with 50 Legal & General team members under the impression it was their real upcoming benefits package. The response was overwhelmingly positive: 94% of participants understood the interface and mechanics immediately. Furthermore, 11 out of 12 interviewed staff expressed a clear desire to flex their benefits, demonstrating that employees actively wanted control over their cover levels.
Creating the EmPro brand
Because Legal & General did not want to put their main name on an unreleased product during external market testing, we created a temporary brand named EmPro (short for Employee Protection). Through collaborative workshops, elevator pitch exercises, and future press release writing, we shaped a clear tone of voice and visual identity. This allowed us to present a polished, commercial B2C proposition to external stakeholders without brand risk.
Validating desirability in the field
To test whether HR directors would actually buy this new model, we launched a landing page experiment supported by targeted LinkedIn ad campaigns aimed at HR leaders. We took the concept even further by bringing EmPro to a major HR industry convention with a fully equipped exhibition stand. Demonstrating the product face-to-face allowed us to gather direct feedback, pitch the unique value proposition, and collect high-intent sales leads.
Impact and real-world outcomes
The insights and interest gathered throughout the project provided the business case needed to move forward. The high-profile leads generated during field testing included significant enterprise conversations, such as pitching to Virgin Money. Following L&G's acquisition of fintech startup Salary Finance, our validated UX blueprint was handed over to their team to build and roll out the final commercial platform (named: L&G Protect) to the wider market.
