The amount paid by Legal & General for individual protection claims reached £606 million in 2016, up by £64 million from the previous year.
According to the insurer, life cover payouts increased by £39.5 million while compensation for critical illness and terminal illness payouts climbed by £14 million and £13 million respectively.
The company also shelled out £1.8 million for 94.2% of claims for children’s critical illness and £1.2 million for 94.4% of income protection claims.
“Our figures show that protection continues to play a vital role in supporting thousands of people in their time of need every year, giving them added peace of mind about their finances when they need it most,” said Mark Holweger, managing director of Legal & General Insurance (Partnerships).
Holweger lamented, however, that the UK continues to suffer from a protection gap that leaves many people’s lifestyles at risk in case of a critical illness or inability to work due to long-term illness.
“We hope that advisers are able to make positive use of these statistics to further address this gap and show consumers how important protection can be during an extremely challenging time in their lives,” Holweger was quoted as saying by
Financial Times.
Related stories:
Hearing loss claims surge by nearly 300%
Government input crucial to addressing the UK’s ‘protection gap’
