Zurich sees slight fall in CI claims paid, maintains non-disclosure rate

Zurich paid 89% of critical illness (CI) claims received in the first six months of the year with payments amounting to £43.7m.

It preserved its level of declining just 1% of claims for non-disclosure reasons, while 9.6% were declined for not meeting the claim definition.

The overall figure of 89% is slightly down on the 91% recorded in 2010.

From January to June the insurer paid 515 claims, compared with 787 in total for the full year to December 2010.

Cancer remained the most common condition accounting for half of the total, as it was for the previous year, and was followed by heart attack (10 %) followed by stroke (5%) and multiple sclerosis (4 %).

Phil Brown, head of protection and underwriting for Zurich UK Life, said: "The good news is that we have paid out more claims in the year to June than in the same period last year, and that those claims have been of a higher total value.

"It is also good to note that the number of claims declined for non-disclosure have remained constant.

"It demonstrates that wherever a claim is legitimate we will accept it as swiftly as possible, making a huge difference to our customers and their families at a time of great need and often in the face of serious illness," he added.

Zurich is now committed to publishing both six-monthly and annual critical illness claims figures in the future.