The firm’s average payout was £81,434, with the largest pay out at just over £945,000. The average age of a claimant was 47 years old and 2.6% of all claims were rejected for reasons of non-disclosure.

In the year to 30 June, over £30m was paid out for cancer claims, at 65% of the total, and almost £7m was paid out for heart attack claims, or 13% of pay outs.

Jennifer Gilchrist, senior product development manager, Scottish Provident said: “We get a great deal of satisfaction paying out claims and being able to support claimants and their families at a difficult time in their lives.

“Putting in place a financial safety net has meant that over 550 customers have benefited from a financial pay out when they needed it most.”