Royal London paid 99% of all protection claims in 2023, paying out over 77,000 protection claims, totalling a record total of £731m, representing £100m more than 2022.
This is according to the mutual’s individual claims data published today, which said its highest individual pay out was for £4m.
In 2022, Royal London paid out £631m in protection claims in 2022 approving 99.4% of all claims and paying benefits to almost 80,000 customers and their families.
Life Insurance
Royal London paid out more than £228m in life insurance and terminal illness claims in 2023, with the mutual paying 2,396 claims, averaging £95,371 per claim.
This compared with more than £182m in life insurance and terminal illness claims paid out in 2022, with more than 2,000 claims paid, averaging £86,500 per claim.
Whole of Life
In 2023, nearly a third of a billion (£315m) was paid out in whole of life claims with 99.9% of claims paid. The mutual paid more than 70,000 claims, averaging £4,461 per claim.
In the previous year, across whole of life claims, £312m was paid out, with 99.9% of all claims paid and 74,000 claims paid averaging £4,211 per claim.
Critical Illness
Across critical illness, Royal London paid 90.5% of claims in 2023, averaging more than £68,000 per claim and a total of more than £173m . A total of 6.8% of critical illness claims were declined due to not meeting the policy definition.
The most common reasons for an adult CI claim were cancer (66%), heart attack (9%) and stroke (9%).
The percentage of CI claims paid was down from 2022 when 93.6% of 2,011 CI claims were paid in 2022, averaging more than £65,000 per claim and a total of more than £132m.
Income Protection
Turning to income protection, around £6.5m was paid out in claims last year. The most common reasons for an IP claim were musculoskeletal (54%), cancer (10%) and mental health conditions (4%) and 85.6% were new or continued claims.
This compared with 86% of 508 income protection claims made in 2022, this included income protection claims already in payment, with around £2.5m paid out.
Helping Hand and RedArc
The mutual also said that 4,300 customers have registered for Helping Hand in 2023, enabling them to benefit from extra help through things like virtual GP consultations, musculoskeletal, physio and mental health support.
Its service provided through RedArc helped more than one thousand customers and their families last year. Of this group 18% received support with a cancer diagnosis, 17% mental health wellbeing, 16% musculoskeletal issues and 14% bereavement support.
Unwinding of events post pandemic
Commenting on the data, Craig Paterson, chief underwriter at Royal London, (pictured) told Health & Protection: “The number of critical illness claims and the amount we paid were up significantly year on year between 2022 and 2023, 26% and 31% respectively.
“This could be down to an unwinding of events post-Covid, with additional claims a result of diagnoses sadly being missed or delayed, that were subsequently picked up over the course of 2023.
“It ties in with figures we saw during the first year of the pandemic, where we saw a 24% drop in CI claims for cancer as a result of things like delayed screenings and lockdown restrictions.
“There’s an important message for remaining vigilant and attending your doctor if you notice anything unusual.
“We know that the early detection of conditions, especially cancer, ensures that treatment can start sooner, which in turn boosts overall survival rates.
“The concern is that delays in diagnosis mean more intensive treatment is required and, tragically, the likelihood of greater deaths.”