Drewberry™ uses cookies to offer you the best experience online. By continuing to use our website you agree to the use of cookies including for ad personalization.
If you would like to know more about cookies and how to manage them please view our privacy & cookie policy.
Life Insurance pays out a lump sum to the family of the policyholder if they were to pass away during the term of the policy.
Many people are worried that Life Insurance may not pay out when their loved ones need it the most, but this page aims to provide an indication of just how good insurers are at paying Life Insurance claims.
The statistics below cover the payout rates for both Level Term and Decreasing Term Life Insurance. Successful claims for Whole of Life Cover are often higher.
While Life Insurance often includes Critical Illness Cover, the below Life Insurance payout data refers to standalone life cover only.
Life Insurance is designed to pay your loved ones a cash lump sum should you die while the policy is active. The below statistics cover term insurance claims, so these are policies that run for a set term and then cease.
Many plans can also pay out early if the policyholder is diagnosed with a terminal illness (there is usually the requirement that the policyholder be diagnosed with less than 12 months to live).
There are two main reasons why a small amount of life claims: fraud and a lack of disclosure when taking the policy out. Fraud occurs when someone makes a fake Life Insurance claim. It’s usually a deliberate act by the policyholder who is not, in fact, deceased or terminally ill.
Fraud will account for some of the below insurers’ declined claims, but assuming your family is making a genuine claim this isn’t anything to worry about.
Another small proportion of Life Insurance claims are declined due to a lack of disclosure. However, this can easily be avoided by being honest and forthright about your medical history when you take out the policy.
When you apply for Life Insurance through Drewberry, we’ll help you go through the necessary medical questions to get the policy in place.
Providing you’re totally upfront when answering these questions, it’s unlikely your loved ones will have any issues claiming later on.
Samantha Haffenden-Angear
Independent Protection Specialist
Each year the Association of British Insurers (ABI) publishes average payout rate statistics from across all insurers. The latest figures from 2024 show that most insurers paid more than 90% of all Life Insurance claims that year.
The table below shows what proportion of Life Insurance claims were paid by each insurer over three years to 2024, the latest year for which complete data is available.
As you can see, the vast majority of Life Insurance claims are successful and result in a payout.
Some insurers might treat a fraudulent claim as declined, whereas others could have a different way of classing them.
Given this, the data below isn’t a simple measure of which insurer is best for Life Insurance. One insurer might have better policy wording or could be more suited to you even though payout rate may be slightly lower.
Rauri Taylor
Independent Protection Specialist
| Insurer | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aviva | 99.3% | 98.8% | 98.7% |
| Legal & General | 97% | 97% | 97.5% |
| LV= | 97% | 97% | n/a |
| Royal London | 94.1% | 98.7% | 94.2% |
| Scottish Widows | 99.4% | 98% | 99% |
| Vitality | 99.7% | 98.9% | n/a |
| Zurich | n/a | 99.8% | 99.8% |
IMPORTANT NOTICE 🧐
You shouldn’t use payout statistics alone to decide which insurer offers the best life insurance. Instead, use them as a rough guide to compare successful claims across the industry as a whole.
When you take out Life Insurance, it’s obviously hugely important for you to be able to compare insurers and be sure that the provider will pay out to your family in the event of a genuine claim.
However, you’ve also got to consider how to find the best Life Insurance for you given your circumstances, such as your health and lifestyle. Some insurers also offer additional benefits when you take out life cover with them.
As such, the process of finding the best policy for your needs requires you to look beyond simple claims data and at a number of other personal and policy factors – this is something the team at Drewberry would be more than happy to help with.
If you would like help and advice comparing Life Insurance quotes and policies, or want to discuss the merits of each insurer with one of our protection advisers, don’t hesitate to pop us a call on 02084327333. You can email help@drewberry.co.uk if you’d prefer.
Tom Conner
Director
When it comes to protecting yourself and your finances, you deserve first-class service. Here’s why you should talk to us:
