The provider paid a total of £483m combined death and critical illness claims, up from £441m in 2011.
Finalised life claims have increased by 5% since 2011 279 to 5815 and there was a 5% increase in claims finalised compared to 2011.
Critical illness figures are; 3,080 claims paid; an average of £67,535 paid per claim; 48-years-old was the average age; and cancer remains number one reason for claim.
The average age for an income protection claim is 42 years old and musculosketal, mental illness and neurological were the three top reasons for claim.
Russell Whitworth, underwriting and claims director for Legal & General’s retail protection business, said: “On average we pay out eight claims a day. We continue in our work to reduce non-disclosure and only 2.3% of claims in 2012 were repudiated purely for medical non-disclosure.
“4.6% of claims did not meet the definition as set out by the ABI Best Practice for Critical Illness, to which Legal & General adheres.
“With advances in medical science more people are surviving a critical illness but it also means that they will need some form of financial support to help them during their treatment, recovery and in some cases to help them live with their illness. These figures show just how important critical illness cover is.”
