British Friendly has published its claims statistics for 2014, showing that it paid 96.7 per cent of income protection claims last year, while less than four in every 100 claims were declined.
This is less than half the average rate of income protection declined claims in 2013, according to recent Association of British Insurers figures.
In 2013 the ABI announced that on average UK insurers paid 91.1 per cent of individual income protection claims during that year, meaning 8.9 per cent of claims were declined, either for non-disclosure or not meeting the policy definition, compared with 3.3 per cent at British Friendly in 2014.
In total, British Friendly received 912 claims during 2014, of which 882 claims were paid and 30 declined.
Those declined were for the following reasons: 19 due to non-disclosure; one due to premiums in arrears; one due to late notification and nine due to exclusions applying.
Mark Myers, chief executive of British Friendly, noted they are the first insurer to publish claims numbers for the whole of 2014 and stated that all insurers should publish their data by the end of January.
He said: “Presumably all firms monitor this information throughout the year anyway to ensure they are producing good outcomes for their customers or members so publishing them should be a quick turnaround.
“The Seven Families campaign is raising awareness of Income Protection around the UK and insurers need to up their game in response.”
Mark Dennison, principal at adviser Lightblue UK, added: “We are always pleased to see insurers publishing claims data as it helps to show the underlying culture of the company.
“A long term excellent track record of paying claims is a key criteria in selecting the right products for our clients.”
peter.walker@ft.com
