Zurich paid more than 91 per cent of its critical illness claims in 2014, amounting to £63.1m to 750 customers.
This forms a total of more than £191m paid out on retail protection related claims, including those for income protection and life policies.
The average payout for a critical illness claim over the period was £83,144 and the largest amounted to £1m.
Cancer was again the most common reason for claims, accounting for 62 per cent, followed by 12 per cent for heart attack, 7 per cent for stroke and 3 per cent for multiple sclerosis.
Where it was not possible to accept the claim, in 8 per cent of cases the definition of the illness was not met, while 1 per cent were declined because of non-disclosure of medical information.
The 2014 figures were down from a 94 per cent critical illness claim payout rate in 2013, which itself was up from 90 per cent in 2012.
Similarly, Aviva paid out 92.9 per cent of critical illness claims in 2013.
More than half of Zurich’s claims were settled within 21 days, with the quickest taking just two days to process, following a project launched last January to speed up pay outs for customers.
Peter Hamilton, head of retail propositions at Zurich, said the reporting was important in order to challenge misplaced perceptions amongst many that claims do not get paid.
He said: “Collectively, insurers will continue to be judged on claims paid, both the decision on the claim but also the experience. This is why we have invested in our claims systems and we will continue to look for ways to speed up the process of paying claims in any way we can.”
James Lindon-Travers, mortgage practice principal of Lindon-Travers Associates, admitted that there is a great deal of scepticism out there around insurance claims in general.
He said: “I know first-hand the huge difference critical illness protection makes to our customers and we are delighted to see Zurich introducing so many new initiatives to further reduce payout times.”
peter.walker@ft.com
