Covid-19 has moved down the list of top reasons for an income protection (IP) claim, according to Holloway Friendly which paid out 93.4% of new claims in 2022, with £3.78m paid out to 663 members.
According to 2022 claims data, the amount paid out was up from £3.5m in 2021 but down slightly on the 94% of claims approved in the previous year.
There was also a decline in the number of members paid out to, as in 2021 the mutual the paid out to 766 members – its most ever.
While musculoskeletal conditions continued as the top reason to claim, Covid-19 swapped places with joints and tendons – moving from second in 2021 to third, with mental health followed by surgical procedures completing the top five.
Stuart Tragheim, CEO of Holloway Friendly, (pictured) said: “We paid out £3.7m in new claims to 663 of our members, and supported 536 people back to good health and recovery in 2022.
“It’s the reason we exist as a business and it’s an absolute privilege for us to be able to make a difference to so many people when they need us the most.”
Suzy Esson, chief operating officer, added: “We see every day that ill health or an accident can unfortunately happen to anyone at any time.
“The top five reasons our members were unable to work in 2022 included musculoskeletal problems, issues with joints and tendons, Covid-19, mental ill-health and surgical procedures. And we had claims from members of all ages – the youngest was just 20 and the oldest was 64.
Esson added the society had worked hard to improve its customer journey, noting introducing electronic medical reports had reduced the average time it takes to get medical information at claim by 75%.
“We’ve also pushed ourselves by introducing even shorter service levels for claims. And we launched a new online application with one of the world’s most powerful underwriting engines, with clearer, more interactive questions, which should only help to improve disclosure in the future,” she added.
