Leading life and pensions mutual insurer LV= paid individual protection claims totalling £135m during 2023, up 6% since 2022. LV= supported more than 8,000 claimants and their families paying 94% of all individual protection claims including life, critical illness and income protection.

About the claims (Full details are available in the LV= Claims Report 2023)

LV= paid out more than £27m in Critical Illness claims in 2023 to over 370 individuals and families, with the highest payment of more than £600,000. Cancer accounted for 59% of all critical illness claims, followed by heart attack (10%) and stroke (5%). The most common forms of cancer claims were breast (25%), bowel (13%) and prostate (12%). In addition, LV= paid a total of over £605,000 for 25 children’s claims. The majority were cancer claims, with the youngest claimant being one day old.

Life Insurance claims (including terminal illness claims)*** totalled more than £87m, supporting 5,500 families and their loved ones. The highest claim payment was £2m and the top causes for claims were cancer (36%), heart-related conditions (23%), respiratory (9%) and stroke or brain haemorrhage (5%). The average age at claim was 65 and the youngest was 28.

LV= paid nearly £17.2m in Income Protection (IP)* claims to more than 1,100 individuals and families. Musculoskeletal issues (33%), cancer (23%) and mental health (15%) accounted for over half of all income protection claims. The average length of a claim was five years 10 months for full Income Protection. We paid almost £89,000 in Parent and Child cover claims after their child suffered a serious illness. The average age of the child at claim was seven years old. 

Claims for Personal Sick Pay** protection, which is designed for those in higher risk occupations and those who are self-employed, totalled almost £4m with payments made to more than 1,100 individuals. The youngest claimant was 17 and the top reasons for claims were musculoskeletal (45%), fractures (10%), coughs and colds (6%) and mental health (5%). 

Overall, 6% of LV= protection claims were not paid out in 2023. Of the 6% which were not paid, over 7 in 10 were because of misrepresentation or fraud. Common areas of misrepresentation included failing to accurately disclose existing medical conditions, alcohol units consumed and smoking status.  LV= also reported on claims that couldn’t be paid due to not meeting the policy definitions, with a more detailed breakdown of these in its latest claims report.