Scottish Widows paid out £236.6m in protection claims in 2024.
This was marginally down on the £243m paid out in 2023, but up from £199m in protection claims in 2022 and £207.9m in 2021.
Over the year Scottish Widows paid out more than 98% of protection claims to customers and their families for a sixth consecutive year.
The insurer’s claims data also showed it paid 99.1% of life insurance and 91.8% of critical illness claims last year, with £141m paid out for life and £95m for critical illness claims.
More than 11,500 customers and their loved ones received financial support while going through a difficult time. This represented 9,939 life and 1,609 critical illness claims.
A third (33.7%) of all life insurance claims were due to cancer, and the provider recorded a four percentage point increase (to 40.7%) in deaths from cancer among women, compared with 29% of men.
But the data found men were twice as likely to die from heart-related issues (27%) than women (13%).
Around two thirds (64%) of all critical illness claims made were for cancer, but Scottish Widows highlighted that this rises to 75% of claims made by women compared to 53% made by men.
Other most common causes included heart attack (10.4%) and stroke (8.6%).
The most common critical illness claims for cancer amongst men were for prostate (26%), bowel (12.8%), malignant melanoma (7.5%), Hodgkins/lymphoma (7%) and leukaemia (5.4%).
Breast cancer accounted for half (51%) of cancer-related claims made by women, followed by bowel (9.1%), malignant melanoma (6.3%), ovarian (4.5%) and uterine or cervical (4.3%).
The average age of customers with life insurance claims was 58 (59 in 2023), while for terminal illness the average age remained at 56.
The youngest person whose life policy paid out was age 21.
Scottish Widows also noted a 32% increase in life claims between 31 and 40 years old with the main causes being accident and cancer.
Stroke and heart disease related claims are also on the rise among this age group.
The average age within critical illness claims was 52 (up from 51 in 2023), with the youngest adult claiming at 25 years of age.
The youngest child claim in 2024 was for a 15-day-old, as children’s cover is included as standard for Scottish Widows customers.
Additional support
Help from RedArc is available to all Scottish Widows policyholders and their immediate family without the need to make a claim.
It provides more than 30 different types of therapy to meet the specific needs of the customer, including for all physical and mental health conditions with no exclusions for pre-existing conditions.
In 2024, 28% received support for cancer and 13% for mental health.
With RedArc support, 83% of those with severe anxiety and depression improved to moderate or less within three months.
Around 7% of referrals received were for children for support with mental health and bereavement and 12% of referrals were for family members.
Scottish Widows customers can also access online 24/7 digital private GP appointments with Clinic in a Pocket provided by Square Health.
A total of 42% of all appointments were booked out of hours (8pm-8am), 41% took place between 8pm and 8am and one in five appointments was at the weekend.
Life claims
The total amount paid out in life claims in 2024 was £141.4m
Almost £14.6m was paid in terminal illness claims, a 27% increase on 2023
A total of 40.7% of all life insurance claims among women were as a result of death from cancer, compared with 29% for men.
Heart-related claims accounted for 27% of cases for men and almost 13% of cases for women.
The average life claim paid was £58,645 and the highest individual claim paid was £750,000.
Critical illness claims
The total amount paid out in critical illness claims was £95.1m
Cancer claims made up the largest percentage of claims (64% of all cases); this was followed by heart attack (10.4%) and stroke (8.6%).
Among men 53% of claims made were for cancer, heart attack (17.4%) and stroke (9.8%)
Among women, 75.2% of critical illness claims were for cancer, stroke (7.4%) and heart attack (3.4%)
The average critical illness claim paid was £59,158 and the highest individual claim paid was £788,499
Concerning rise in cancer
Scott Cadger, head of claims and underwriting strategy at Scottish Widows, (pictured) said: “We continue to support our customers and their loved ones while they’re going through a very difficult time by providing the financial safety net they trusted us with when they chose a Scottish Widows policy.
“We’re also being there for advisers who continue to see the benefit of our comprehensive product suite and digital enhancements so that they can always see best possible outcomes for their clients.
“Year on year we deliver on our promise consistently paying out 98% of claims, now for the sixth year in a row.
“This year we have seen a concerning rise in the prevalence of cancer, with a substantial rise in the number of claims paid for cancer-related causes both in life and critical illness.
“That’s why we will continue to work with our partners Macmillan, RedArc and SquareHealth to offer industry-leading support and care to our customers, so they can focus on what really matters during life’s unexpected twists and turns.”