Aegon ups CI claims paid

Aegon paid 94% of critical illness (CI) claims in the first half of the year, a 3% increase on its overall result for 2010 (91%).

The provider saw cancer claims make-up more than two thirds (68%) during the first six months of 2011, also an increase over the whole of last year (61%).

It added that 2.8% of claims declined were for non-disclosure while the remaining 3.2% were for not meeting the condition definition.

Matt Rann, head of claims and underwriting at Aegon, said the increased number of claims being paid was a reflection on the development of its claims service.

However, Rann noted that non-disclosure was still a problem.

"Despite the improvement in the number of CI claims we are paying, I am disappointed to see that we are still battling with issues of non-disclosure," he said.

"In the last few years we have taken several steps to stamp this out, by lending support to advisers and their clients through the application process. Tools such as our underwriting helpline have started to make a difference but people still seem to be missing out the details that matter.

"We are working closely with the Financial Ombudsman and continuing to apply the ABI Claims and Non-Disclosure Code of Conduct in order to try to reduce the instances of non-disclosure," he added.