According to the firm, the claims were across life insurance, income protection and critical or terminal illness products with around 17,768 claims paid out.
This is a five per cent increase on the number of claims compared to the previous year.
The company continued that this means that it paid out an average of £2.4m in retail protection claims a day last year and brings total claims paid to customers to £3.8bn over the last five years.
The most common claims for life insurance were cancer, heart and neurological conditions, with Covid-19 falling from the top three to number six.
Legal and General added that the average income protection claimant was 39 years old, which it said showed the importance of having protection in place at every age.
Wellbeing support doubles
The company added that the use of wellbeing support had doubled since 2021. This includes umbrella benefits, which are added services and optional benefits that customers can access regularly.
This covers bespoke practical and emotional telephone support from a registered nurse that can assist with chronic and physical illness, trauma, relationship breakdowns and care concerns. Private diagnostics and fracture cover can also be accessed at an additional cost.
David Banks, director of claims and underwriting at Legal and General Retail, said: “Legal and General is committed to paying as many claims as possible to our valued customers, and we’re proud to have provided increased financial support for a record number of people at their time of need over the last year. This demonstrates the value of protection and the need for coverage across people’s lives.
“While the financial support we offer to individuals and their families when they face a sudden loss of income is critical, we’re incredibly proud of the additional wellbeing services we’ve provided for our customers.”
He added: “Protection goes far beyond paying claims, and we continue to put the ongoing emotional and physical health of our customers first through enhancing our extensive umbrella benefits.”
