ProtectionApr 25 2016

Aviva pays £839m in protection claims during 2015

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Aviva pays £839m in protection claims during 2015

More than £839m was paid to individual protection customers and their families in 2015 through claims on Aviva and Friends Life life insurance, critical illness and income protection policies.

Aviva bought Friends Life last April, and the combined company paid more than £500m to the families of life insurance customers who had died or been diagnosed with a terminal illness in 2015.

A further £303m was paid out to customers with critical illnesses and more than £35m went to customers with income protection policies to help meet their living costs when they have been unable to work.

Last year’s statistics revealed more than 23,000 customers and their families benefitted from life, CI and IP claims, including more than 15,000 life and terminal illness, more than 4,000 critical illness and just under 4,000 income protection claims.

During the year, 98.9 per cent of life insurance claims and 92.5 per cent of critical illness claims were paid.

This was 93.5 per cent of Aviva critical illness policies, slightly up from 93.2 per cent in 2014; and 91 per cent of Friends Life policies, compared to 93.3 per cent in 2014.

Of the critical illness claims overall which were not paid, 1.6 per cent were declined due to non-disclosure and 5.9 per cent for conditions not met.

The average sum paid to critical illness customers was £74,275 and the average age of Aviva critical illness customers claiming was 45 years for women (46 years in 2014) and 49 years for men (the same as in 2014).

Cancer remained the most common cause of critical illness claims at 63 per cent of all claims, followed by heart attack (10 per cent), stroke (6 per cent), multiple sclerosis (4 per cent) and total permanent disability (4 per cent).

Robert Morrison, chief underwriter for protection at Aviva, said: “No one ever wants to claim against this type of policy, but knowing that as a combined group we are committed to paying claims wherever possible will provide customers and their families with the reassurance and comfort they need if they face such difficult times.”

peter.walker@ft.com