Legal & General’s record pay out of £921m in retail protection claims in 2023 included a successful £120,000 critical illness claim for a couple where one partner was diagnosed with a benign brain tumour later in the year.
The insurer said this morning that it had paid out more than £2.5m in retail protection claims per day on average in 2023, an increase of 5% on the previous year.
Total claims in 2023 amounted to over £921m, up £37.9m on claims paid in 2022, while over £765,000 worth of claims were paid to customers who considered cancelling and would otherwise have gone without financial support.
In total, 18,696 claims were paid across Legal & General’s protection product offering, a 5% increase on the previous year.
Approval rates
When it comes to life insurance, L&G paid 97% of claims, with £519m total paid out across 13,007 claims.
For critical illness cover, this figure was 93% of claims, with £255m in total paid across 3,597 claims.
For children’s critical illness cover, the insurer paid out 97% of claims, with £3.75m total paid across 195 claims.
And for income protection, this was 80% of claims, with £3.6m in total paid across 389 new and continued claims.
Supporting couple considering cancelling CI policy
Picking out one particular case, the insurer pointed to a customer who took out a CI policy in 2015 with their partner and contacted Legal & General as they were considering cancelling the policy after paying off the mortgage and starting a new job which had life insurance included as an employee benefit.
The insurer added its customer service team were able to explain that the CIC policy was not linked to the mortgage and reiterated the benefits of the policy to help them decide if the cover was still needed.
And when their partner was diagnosed with a benign brain tumour later in the year, Legal & General was able to support the couple with a successful claim for £120,000.
David Banks, director of claims and underwriting, Legal & General Retail said: “We are proud of our claims paying record and the ability to help individuals and their families during their time of need.
“We have supported more people than ever in 2023, demonstrating the value of protection, especially at a time of rising living costs and financial uncertainty.
“At Legal & General, we’re committed to ensuring more people have and keep their cover in place.
“Our customer story shows that communicating the value of protection throughout a person’s journey, and not just at the point of sale, can contribute to better customer outcomes.
“Beyond paying the claim, we also offer our customers extensive umbrella benefits – a package of value-added services and optional benefits.
“Our additional wellbeing services include a range of emotional and physical health support – all of which can have a positive impact on our customer’s lives before, during and after a claim.”