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LV= pays record £127m in individual protection claims

20/04/2023
PROTECTION
  • Payouts in 2022 hit record level with 8,000 individuals and families supported 

Investment, protection and retirement specialist LV= paid individual protection claims totalling £127m during 2022. LV= supported more than 8,000 claimants and their families paying 95% of all individual protection claims including life, critical illness and income protection.

About the claims (Full details are available in the LV= Claims Report 2022)
LV= paid out more than £28m in Critical Illness claims in 2022 to more than 360 individuals and families, with the highest payment of more than £400,000. Cancer accounted for 56% of all critical illness claims, followed by heart attack (14%) and stroke (7%). Almost six out of 10 claims were made following a cancer diagnosis, with breast (24%), prostate (14%), bowel (13%) and skin (10%) accounting for most claims. In addition LV= paid a total of over £544,000 for 25 claims involving children from newborn to 17 years old. 

Life Insurance claims (including terminal illness claims)*** totalled more than £80m, supporting 5,000 families and their loved ones. The highest claim payment was £1m and the top causes for claims were cancer (40%), heart-related conditions (20%), respiratory (9%), Covid-19 (6%) and stroke (5%). The average age at claim was 63 and the youngest was 25.

LV= paid nearly £15m in Income Protection (IP)* claims to more than 1,000 individuals and families. Musculoskeletal issues (25%), cancer (20%), mental health (12%) and fractures (10%), accounted for over half of all income protection claims. The top occupations making a claim were doctor, dentist, nurse, teacher and vet.

Claims for Personal Sick Pay** protection, which is designed for those in higher risk occupations and those who are self-employed and contract workers, totalled more than £3m with payments made to more than 1,100 individuals. The youngest claimant was 22 and the top reasons for claims were musculoskeletal (38%), Covid-19 (15%), fractures (12%), coughs, colds (5%) and mental health (4%). The top occupations to claim were warehouse worker, carpenter, builder, HGV driver and nurse.

In total, LV= paid almost 95% of protection claims in 2022. We were unable to pay the remainder for a variety of reasons including failing to disclose existing medical conditions, misrepresentation and fraud, and not meeting the policy definitions. LV= provides a more detailed breakdown of these in its latest claims report. 
 

“I’m proud that in 2022 LV= paid out £127m in protection claims; it’s the highest-ever amount we have paid for protection claims. Almost 8,000 individuals were supported by an LV= protection policy - and that’s not counting the numerous families and loved ones who a protection policy has also supported.

“Protection insurance has an important role to play in helping people improve their financial resilience and ensure that an injury or illness does not become a financial disaster for families.

“Our help does not start and end with a claim payment. Having a policy with LV= is more than an insurance payout. For example, the LV= Doctors Services provides valuable support throughout the life of the policy and members also benefit from our mutuality with support via our Legal Advice Line and Member Support Fund.”
 
Anna RogersHead of Underwriting and Claims at LV=

Notes to editors

Claims – LV= major protection products – 2022

Protection 2022 Critical illness Income protection Personal Sick Pay Life**        
Total value paid £28.3m £14.7m (Includes £2.3m of new claims and £12.4m of claims already in payment) £3.3m (includes £2.2m of new claims, and £1.1m of claims already in payment) £80.6m
Average claim £77,705 £6,441 (average amount new claims) £2,330 (average amount paid in new claims) £14839
Highest claim £400,000 - - £1m
Average Policy duration at claim 8 years 4 months 6 years 9 months 4 years 3 months 8 years 6 months

 

**These figures include claims for Life Insurance, (including Terminal Illness claims) and whole of life products. Our whole of life products are no longer open to new business.

 

About the claims stats
*Income protection figures include new claims of £2.3m, and claims already in payment that continued to be paid in 2022 of £12.4m
**Personal sick pay figures include new claims of 2.2m, and claims already in payment that continued to be paid in 2022 of £1.1m
*** These figures include claims for Life Insurance, Family Income Benefit, Terminal Illness and whole of life products (some of which are non-underwritten products). Our whole of life products are no longer open to new business.