Insurers pay £6.7m a day in 2011, ABI
Insurance companies paid out £6.7m a day during 2011, figures from the Association of British Insurers have revealed.
Statistics for 2011 released by the trade body showed the pay-outs, worked out on a daily basis, were split between nearly 170 individuals and families who made claims on life, critical illness and income protection insurance policies.
Stephen Gay, the ABI’s director of savings and protection, said the average pay-out on a life insurance policy was £46,000, two and a half times the average annual take-home salary.
He claimed 97 per cent of life insurance claims were paid. The small number of claims declined was due to fraud or customers failing to disclose relevant medical information to their insurer.
The average pay-out on a critical illness insurance policy was £59,000, with 92 per cent of claims paid.
The average claim in 2011 on income protection policies was for £14,000 annually, paying out on average for 260 weeks, five years, to help those unable to work.
Mr Gay said: “Insurance companies want to pay all valid claims. It is important that all insurance policies are clear so that customers are able to understand the circumstances in which they can make a claim.
“The ABI is always looking at ways to reduce the number of claims that are declined, for example because the customer has not provided all relevant information to their insurer, or has not understood that the claim they want to make is not covered by insurance.”