Zurich has revealed it paid out 94% of income protection (IP) claims in the first half 0f 2013.
Of the customers currently receiving an income protection payment, 60 were new claims and 94% were accepted from a medical perspective - this compares to 90% for the whole of 2012.
The insurer said in 6% of these cases, there was no immediate loss of income, and so no benefit was due, and in 2% the customer returned to work before the end of the deferred period.
Just 6% of claims in total were declined, which were due to the definition of disability not being met.
The top four conditions paid out on include musculoskeletal (12 claims), mental health (10 claims), cancer (9 claims), and neurological conditions including strokes (9 claims).
Peter Hamilton, head of retail propositions in the UK said: "We hope these figures help to reassure our customers that we are there to help support them when they need us most. As well as paying income protection claims, Zurich helps customers recover and get back to work after the accident, illness or injury which has caused the initial claim. We support claimants with a personalised programme, using external therapists and specialists where appropriate.
"Cuts to welfare spending by the government mean that responsibility for protecting household incomes against illness or disability is shifting back to the individual - and so products like income protection have an increasingly important role to play."
