Royal London paid 98.7% of all protection claims made in 2024, posting another record total of more than £751m as 65,385 claims were approved.
The figure was £20m more than in 2023, which itself was a record year, but also partially included policies following the formal transfer of Aegon’s individual protection business on 1 July 2024.
The youngest customer Royal London paid a claim for was 19 years old, and a quarter of claims were for those under the age of 45.
Life insurance
For term life and terminal illness claims Royal London paid out a total of nearly £270m.
Of that total, £212m was paid to 2,287 life term customers with an average payment of £92.736. That represented 93.8% of all claims.
For terminal illness a total of 435 customers received an average payment of £132,330, representing 88.6% of all claims.
The oldest age of a claimant was 83 and the average age was 58. The youngest customer was 29. The largest payment was £1.5m.
Critical illness
For critical illness (CI) claims, it paid out more than £180m to 2,675 customers and their families, with an average payment of more than £67,000.
In all 89.7% of all CI claims were approved, a slight drop from the 90.5% approved in 2023.
The most common conditions clients claimed for were cancer (64%), heart attack (10%) and stroke (9%).
Income protection
For income protection (IP) claims Royal London paid out more than £8m to 1,259 customers who were unable to work, with 86.8% of IP claims approved, a slight improvement on the 85.6% in 2023.
These figures include those ongoing IP claims which were already in payment and had been approved previously.
Whole of life
For whole of life claims Royal London paid out more than £286m to 58,045 claimants, representing 99.98% of these claims.
The average amount paid out was £4,930. The largest payment was £1.7m and the average age of a claimant was 78.
Helping Hand
In 2024, a total of 5,408 customers signed up for Helping Hand, with 979 receiving support from a dedicated nurse for issues including cancer diagnoses (19%), mental health concerns (17%), musculoskeletal problems (17%), and bereavement (13%).
Craig Paterson, chief underwriter at Royal London (pictured), said: “Publishing our claims statistics shows how crucial it is to have a financial safety net for when the unexpected happens.
“Paying a claim is our moment of truth – and in 2024 we delivered on that promise, with a record-breaking year for claims paid to customers.
“While we have always had a strong track record in paying claims, we’re always looking to improve the claims experience for our customers, making it easier for them to claim and pay claims faster.
“For instance, we’re now able to settle more life insurance claims without requiring medical evidence.”
