Friends Prov pre-empts proportional claims advice
Friends Provident paid out on 87.3% of its critical illness claims (CI) in 2008, an increase of 0.8% on 2007.
The figures, released at the end of February, revealed that of claims that were declined, 4% were because of non-disclosure while the rest did not meet the definitions of the policy held.
2% of the total claims paid were for proportional payouts. Mark Jones, head of protection marketing at Friends Provident, said: "This is due to non-disclosure and we already had a little experience of paying proportional claims as we were doing that six months before the Association of British Insurers' guidelines came into force. We're really pleased to see the whole industry doing it now.
He added: "When you look at the youngest claimant, who was only 21, and hadn't really started their working life; and the average age for someone claiming, which was 44 when you have the most commitments - it really drives the value of the product home."
Of the 691 claims received, the most common cause of claim was for cancer (55%), followed by cardiovascular conditions (12%), stroke (5%) and multiple sclerosis (4%).
Women were more likely to claim for cancer than men, with 70% of female claims being for the condition compared with 55% for their male counterparts.
The provider said that the average payout on a CI policy was £59,000 and the average length that a policy had been in force for before a claim was paid out was 4.5 years.