Legal & General paid out £638 million in individual protection claims in 2018
The equivalent of £1.7m every day

Legal & General has revealed it paid out more than £638m on individual protection claims in 2018, the equivalent of £1.7m every day.
The FTSE 100 insurer paid 97% of all life claims in 2018, which equates to £332.7m across 10,046 claims. The three main claim conditions were cancer (38%), cardiovascular disease (18%) and pneumonia (7%), with an average customer payout of £34,279.
It also paid out £107.3m across 1,023 terminal illness (TIC) claims in 2018, representing 97% of all TIC claims. The majority were caused by a cancer diagnosis (93%) and the average customer payout was £107,901.
The equivalent of eight claims a day, 93% of critical illness (CIC) claims, were paid out in 2018 by Legal & General. The insurer paid a total of £195.2m across 3,041 CIC claims. The most common conditions were cancer (65%), heart attacks (13%) and strokes (6%), with an average payout of £63,477.
The insurer also paid out for 96% of all child CIC claims, with an average payout of £17,838. The biggest causes of claim for child CIC being cancer (59%), followed by benign brain tumours (11%) and child funeral benefit (7%).
Some 95% of all income protection (IP) claims were paid, equivalent to a total amount of £1.15m, in 2018. Musculoskeletal disorders (36%) were the leading cause of claim, followed by mental health (20%) and cancer (15%).
‘Vital impact'
Stephen Griffiths, managing director, UK Protection at Legal & General said: "Whether it's helping customers to keep their family financially secure after the death of a loved one, or assisting someone with a long-term illness to meet their mortgage repayments, these figures prove the vital impact this type of insurance can have on peoples' lives.
"Managing a cancer diagnosis or overcoming the death of someone close is already hard enough without the added worry about financial security or keeping up with day-to-day costs."
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