Standard Life made a bold move this month by revealing details of its declined claims statistics for...
Standard Life made a bold move this month by revealing details of its declined claims statistics for its critical illness (CI) and life assurance plans. It is a step that both I and many advisers working in the protection market broadly welcome.
For too long now, the industry has been slammed by the national press for not paying claims and for always being on the look out for a way to avoid coughing up the pennies for those in need.
It is for this reason that I applaud Standard Life for being brave enough to be the first provider to reveal the reasons behind non-payment of claims. The provider has said that it declined 20% of its CI claims between November 2003 and November 2004. But if you believe everything you read, you would think that insurers never paid any claims at all.
The move is a good one for a number of reasons. The first is that declined claims, just like paid claims, can serve to educate advisers and indeed consumers about the need for cover as well as the need for total transparency during the sales process. Second, it shows that Standard Life has nothing to hide. By being open, it is highlighting problems such as non-disclosure. Something the industry is constantly looking to address.
While the ABI welcomes Standard Life's decision, it says it is not going to force its members to follow Standard Life's lead. I think this is a mistake. As the trade association for the UK's insurance industry, it is the ABI's duty to do its best to help the sector move forward and educate people about its practice - making members follow in Standard Life's footsteps is one way of achieving this.
Angela Faherty, editor
