Shepherds Friendly paid £3.25m in new income protection (IP) claims last year, up slightly on the £3.23m paid out in 2024.
The Manchester-based mutual accepted 97% of IP claims in 2025 – up 1% from the 96% of 2024 and maintaining its five-year average of 95%.
It supported 475 families over the course of the year – and rejected 17 new claims in 2025, down from 19 in 2024.
All of the claims denied were due to applicants not meeting the policy terms and conditions.
Reasons for claim
The most common reason for claim was musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions, which resulted in 49% of claims – a decrease from 55% in 2024.
That was followed by chest/lung/nose/throat conditions, which accounted for 8% of claims, and mental illness at 6%.
Gastrointestinal conditions made up 5% of claims, cancer 3% and heart, neurological and surgery-related conditions each contributed 2% of claims.
MSK conditions also accounted for the bulk of the payments made by value, at 52.1%.
Mental illness accounted for the next highest portion at 12.5%, a figure that was more than double its percentage of claim numbers and was up one percentage point from 2024.
Chest/lung/nose/throat conditions represented 6.2% of the total pay out, gastrointestinal issues 4.5% and cancer 3.7%.
Demonstrating commitment
Jonathan Sandell, CEO of Shepherds Friendly (pictured), said: “We’re pleased to have helped so many members and their families during difficult times last year and are proud that we increased our pay out ratio even further.
“This demonstrates our commitment to providing our members with financial support when they need it the most – something we’ve been doing consistently well for 200 years and counting and will continue to do for many years to come.”
