LV= has paid more than £5.4m in income protection (IP) and personal sick pay claims between January and April 2022, almost 10% up on last year.
By comparison, in the same period of 2021 these claims totalled just under £5m. Of this, £4.3m was in IP claims with 90 new claims totalling £357,000 and 645 ongoing claims paid £4m.
There were also 331 new personal sick pay claims paid totalling £346,000 with a further 159 ongoing worth £265,000.
Overall, the insurer paid a total of £16.3m in claims over the two products in the 12 months of 2021.
LV= said it had supported more than 1,276 people combined in the first four months of 2022.
More than 700 of these were IP claimants aged between 23 and 63 with payments totalling £4.4m including ongoing claims.
There was £377,234 paid in new claims only with an average of £4,056 for these.
The top five conditions claimed for through IP were musculoskeletal, cancer, mental health, fractures and Covid-19.
In addition, it paid 14 fracture claims, one parent and child claim and one IP death claim.
Personal sick pay claims totalling more than £1m were paid to 561 people who were unable to work because of sickness or an accident, with almost £500,000 paid in new claims only.
The average claim pay out was £1,046 and the most common causes of claim were musculoskeletal conditions, Covid-19 and fractures.
LV= director of protection sales Mike Farrell said with day-to-day living costs rising, people may be considering cancelling insurance, but it was important they understand the value of protection and specifically the benefits of income protection.
“Statutory sick pay, for example, amounts to just £99.35 a week and groups that are vulnerable to financial hardship, such as renters or self-employed workers, would struggle financially if accident or illness prevents them working,” he said.
“People may question if they can afford protection, but it offers huge benefits and the financial impact of a serious illness or accident can be devastating.”