Bupa has revealed that 2% of critical illness claims were declined due to non-disclosure between January and September 2009, compared to 8.6% in the same period in 2008.
In addition, 9% were turned down because they did not meet the policy definition between January and September 2009, compared to 10.6% in the same period of 2008.
Steve Casey, head of product development at Bupa Individual Protection said: "This is good news for customers, particularly when you compare the stats with the same period last year.
"The reductions are a result of improvements in our policies to make them easier to understand. The other important factor, which is extremely helpful, is clarity and guidance from intermediaries when customers place their trust in Bupa.
"It also shows that the developments we have introduced since reviews by the Association of British Insurers (ABI) two years ago are working."
The average amount paid out by Bupa for critical illness claims continues to be in excess of £98,000 and the average time a person has held a policy being 33 months. Cancer continues to top the list of critical illness claims, accounting for seven out of ten claims by women and half of claims for men.
