Royal London has paid a record £632m in claims in 2021 to more than 84,000 claimants and approved 99.5% of all protection claims last year.
This compares with 2020 claims data which revealed the mutual paid out a then record £591m in protection claims and approved 99.6% of all protection claims – helping around 86,000 of its customers.
Royal London said £24.9m was paid in protection claims related to Covid last year, almost doubling the sum paid out in 2020 and supporting more than 2,000 customers and their families. (See full table below.)
Around one in 10 Covid-related claims paid were for life insurance and totalled more than £16m while helping the families of 217 customers.
Nearly £69,000 was paid in income protection (IP) claims to those unable to work due to Covid, while whole of life Covid claims amounted to more than £8m, supporting more than 1,900 customers.
Life cover
Overall more than £174m was paid in life insurance and terminal illness claims in 2021, with more than 2,000 claims paid out, averaging just over £84,000 per claim. It approved 96% of term assurance claims and 90% of terminal illness claims.
Around a third of a billion (£313m) was paid in whole of life claims, with 99.9% of all claims paid. More than 80,000 claims were paid out – averaging £3,906 per claim.
Critical Illness and income protection
Royal London paid 91.7% of critical illness (CI) claims in 2021, averaging more than £70,000 per claim and a total of more than £136m. The most common reasons for a CI claim in 2021 were cancer (65%), heart attack (11%) and stroke (7%).
Just over 8% of critical illness claims were declined with the majority not meeting the policy definition.
More than £4m was paid out in income protection (IP) claims last year, with 82% of new claims approved. The most common reasons for an IP claim in 2021 were musculoskeletal (36%), cancer (16%) and mental health disorders (10%).
Helping Hand
More than 700 individuals used Royal London’s Helping Hand service in 2021 with the top reasons for referrals being bereavement (23%), cancer (16%), mental health (15%) and orthopaedic (15%) conditions.
Around 57 of the referrals were for children, with the most common condition being mental health disorders (40%).
The service was expanded in January to include health and wellbeing support for new customers, including online access to hand-picked early care medical services.
Craig Paterson, chief underwriter at Royal London, (pictured) said: “Last year we paid a record total of £632m in protection claims, supporting more than 84,000 customers and their families.
“Although the world is starting to move on from the Covid pandemic, many people have still suffered from its impact, such as those who lived with long Covid and those who have sadly lost loved ones.
“We’ve demonstrated our support as a provider over the past two years and have almost doubled the amount paid out in Covid related claims, paying out nearly £25m in 2021.”
