Scottish Widows has increased the probate threshold on life insurance claims and investments from £50,000 to £150,000.
The insurer told Health & Protection that at least 10% of life insurance claimants each year would benefit from the change, with the probate process potentially taking as long as six months.
The move means the insurer can now pay out up to £150,000 without needing to wait for probate to be granted, which is the most common cause of delays in paying death claims.
Applications from a solicitor already benefit from an enhanced limit of £175,000 and it said this also applies for an estate in trust, where there is no surviving trustee.
“Increasing the probate threshold will speed up the payment of claims as the probate process adds anything from a few weeks to six months to the process of paying out a bereavement claim,” Scottish Widows said.
Head of protection Scott Cadger (pictured) added: “We know that waiting for probate to be granted can extend the claims process during what is already an extremely difficult time, and we hope that increasing the threshold from £50,000 to £150,000 will help us provide better customer outcomes for those who have just lost a loved one.”