According to an update from Aviva, over 50,600 claims were paid across individual life insurance, critical illness cover, income protection and other protection policies. This is equal to around 97/98 per cent of claims.
The lender also paid out over £413m in group protection policies last year, meaning around £1.59bn was paid out across all protection policies.
Life insurance makes up £716m in claims
On the life insurance side, over £716m was paid out on individual life insurance and terminal illness benefit last year, which is an increase of £78m on the prior year.
However, the number of claims paid fell from 41,002 in 2022 to 40,436 in 2023.
Around £101m of the total was paid out as terminal illness benefit to 729 customers, with an average payment of £139,000.
Cancer accounted for 43 per cent of all claims, rising to 50 per cent for women and going down to 38 per cent for men.
Cardiovascular conditions made 25 per cent of claims, going up to 29 per cent for men and decreasing to 18 per cent for women.
Respiratory conditions took third position at eight per cent, and this is down from 14 per cent last year.
In this segment, Aviva paid 99.3 per cent of claims, and of the 0.7 per cent of declined claims over half were because the customer “misrepresented relevant information at the point of application”.
Critical illness accounts for over £362m in claims
Within the critical illness side, more than £362m was paid out, and this includes children’s benefit and total and permanent disability.
Over half – 58 per cent – of claims were for cancer diagnosis, which goes up to 74 per cent of all claims for women.
Heart attack came second, making up 17 per cent of all male claims, but only four per cent of female claims.
Stroke was third, at 11 per cent of all claims for men and four per cent of all claims for women.
The most common cancer claims for men was 30 per cent for prostate, 17 per cent for gastrointestinal and 14 per cent haematological.
In women, breast cancer was the most prevalent at 55 per cent, followed by gastrointestinal at 10 per cent and gynaecological at nine per cent.
On the children’s benefit side, £5.9m was paid out to 283 claimants. Nearly a third of the claims were for cancer, with haematological making up 51 per cent of cancer claims.
Around 5,048 claims were paid in total for critical illness, with 91.6 per cent of claims paid. Around 5.8 per cent of claims were declined for the definition not being met and a further 2.4 per cent were denied due to a misrepresentation of information.
Income protection makes up 3,000 claims
On the income protection side, over £53m in monthly benefits was paid last year via ongoing and new claims.
Around 3,000 long-term and new claims were paid, making up 92.5 per cent of all claims.
Musculoskeletal conditions were the most common reason at 27 per cent, followed by mental health at 24 per cent.
There was a 53 per cent rise in new mental health rehabilitation cases last year, and tailored support allowed 81 per cent to return to work after early interventions.
The average age for the first claim from a customer is 42 and two-fifths of claims occur between the ages of 40 and 59.
Aviva paid out around £6.2m in back to work benefit, £197,000 in hospital benefit and £58,000 in trauma benefit.
Fewer than eight in every 100 claims were declined, with the main reason for a decline being due to relevant health and lifestyle information not being shared when the policy was initially taken out.
Protection claims show ‘consistency and scale’ of Aviva
Jacqueline Kerwood, head of claims strategy and governance at Aviva, said that with an average of £3.2m paid out every day last year on individual protection claims, it had shown “consistency and scale in helping customers and their families with crucial financial support when their lives are turned upside down by bereavement or ill health”.
She continued: “Since 2019, we have paid out more than £5.37bn to UK families on just over 233,000 claims. However, the support we give to customers is so much broader than just making payments, with our claims specialists experienced in identifying where additional support would benefit and make a real difference to each customer.
“Whether that’s with rehabilitation services, signposting additional support, or sending gifts to help brighten their day, a claim is more than a financial payment. We go beyond insurance to help support the people we protect.”
She said that it would be bringing some individual stories to life with its Aviva Individual Protection Claims report next month and planned intermediary live events and webinars.
