According to the Association of British Insurers (ABI), insurers have paid out £90 million so far to cover coronavirus deaths.
In total, between March 1st and May 31st 2020, Life Insurance companies paid 7,000 claims for COVID-19 deaths. At the peak of the pandemic, insurers paid £980,000 every day for deaths caused by coronavirus.
Insurers paid the vast majority of these claims (6,689) under individual protection policies, with a further 351 paid under group schemes. (Note that both figures also includes a small number of Critical Illness and Total Permanent Disability claims.)
Helping Families Cope Financially
Roshani Hill, the ABI’s Assistant Director, Head of Protection and Health said:
“Every COVID-19 death is a tragedy. While no amount of money can ever replace a life, insurers have been doing all that they can to help families cope financially through these unprecedented and distressing times.”
Despite the persistent myth that insurers ‘never pay out’, it’s clear to see this is unfounded. Insurers do pay out — even when faced with a threat unprecedented in modern times such as coronavirus.