Life Insurance Claim Payout Rates by Insurer

Online Quote & Apply
22/08/2022
5 mins

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 refer to standalone life cover only.

When Does Life Insurance Pay Out?

Life Insurance is designed to pay your loved ones a cash lump sum should you die while the policy is in force. 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).

When Might Life Insurance Not Pay?

For the small proportion of life cover claims that are declined there are two main reasons: 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.

samatha haffenden-angear, independent protection expert at drewberry

When you apply for Life Insurance through Drewberry, we’ll help you run through all of 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 Expert 

ABI logo

Overall Protection Payout Rates Across All Insurers

Each year the Association of British Insurers (ABI) publishes average payout rate statistics from across all insurers.

The latest figures are from 2021 and show that 97.3% of all life insurance claims were paid, with over £3.88 billion getting paid out in total. The average payout on a life insurance policy in 2021 was more than £80,000.

Percentage of Life Insurance Claims Statistics by Insurer

The table below shows what proportion of life insurance claims were paid by each insurer over three years to 2021, the latest year for which data is available.

As you can see, the vast majority of life insurance claims are successful and result in a payout.

rauri taylor, independent protection expert at drewberry

Some insurers might treat a fraudulent claim as declined, whereas others could have a different way of classing them. Give this, the table 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 Expert

Insurer

2019

2020

2021

Vitality

99.5%

N/A

99.6%

Scottish Widows

99.4%

99%

99%

Liverpool Victoria

99%

98%

N/A

Zurich

99%

99%

N/A

Aviva

98.6%

99.3%

99.4%

Legal & General

97%

97%

98%

Aegon

96%

96%

95%

Royal London

94.3%

95.7%

99.5%

AIG

N/A

99%

N/A

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.

Need Advice on Choosing the Best Life Insurance?

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 – these can often be very good.

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.

Tom Conner, Director at Drewberry

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.

Tom Conner
Director

Why Speak to Us?

We started Drewberry™ because we were tired of being treated like a number.

We all deserve a first class service when it comes to issues as important as protecting our health and our finances. Below are just a few reasons why it makes sense to talk to us.

Compare Top 10 UK Insurers

Takes approx. 60 seconds
  • £
Verified by Norton Symantec icon
 Or Call Us

Contact Us

Head Office & Pensions and Investments
Senator House
85 Queen Victoria Street
London
EC4V 4AB
Personal Insurance & Accounts Payable
Telecom House
125-135 Preston Road
Brighton
BN1 6AF
Drewberry London Office MapDrewberry Brighton Office Map

If you are unhappy with our service, we have a complaints procedure, details of which are available upon request. If you are unhappy with how your complaint has been dealt with, you may be able to refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). The FOS website is www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk.

Drewberry Ltd is registered in England and Wales. Companies House No. 06675912

Drewberry Ltd registered office: Telecom House, Preston Road, Brighton, England, BN1 6AF. Telephone 0208 432 7333

Drewberry Ltd (Financial Conduct Authority No. 505473) is an Appointed Representative of Quilter Wealth Limited and Quilter Mortgage Planning

Limited, which are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.