- €92.9m in life protection claims paid out by Aviva in 2018 across death benefit (€38.2m) specified illness (€12.7m) and income protection (€42m)
- Protection needs highlighted as cancer diagnosis predicted to rise to 1 in 2 people next year
An analysis of the latest claims statistics from leading life and income protection provider Aviva show that the company has paid out in excess of €90m to almost 2,600 claimants in 2018 across its life protection business with a pay-out rate of 91%. Cancer and heart conditions are the main drivers of claims across death benefit and specified illness claims while orthopaedic conditions are driving income protection claims.
With over €38.2m of death benefit claims being paid in 2018, cancer ranks highest in the list of causes of death. Cancer is also highlighted as the leading cause of specified illness claims, accounting for 70% of a total of €12.7 m being paid to Aviva claimants. Income protection claims in 2018 amounted to €42m with orthopaedic conditions accounting for the highest rate (31%) of all pay-outs.
DEATH BENEFIT CLAIMS: CANCER HIGHLIGHTED AS LEADING CAUSE
In 2018, 837 death benefit claims were paid by Aviva, amounting to over €38.2m in total, with the largest claim pay-out reaching over €1.3m. The leading cause of death benefit payments, across both men and women, was cancer, followed closely across both genders by cardiac disease. The average age for death benefit claims was 67 years for women and 66 years for men.
SPECIFIED ILLNESS CLAIMS: CANCER EFFECTS LARGER COHORT OF WOMEN THAN MEN
According to Aviva’s statistics, cancer also proved to be the leading cause of specified illness claims, in particular amongst women, with both breast cancer and other cancers accounting for a combined total of (80%), compared with a lesser cohort of men (65%). Cardiac conditions (20%) ranked second on the list of leading claim causes for men, with stroke accounting for (7%). A total of 152 claims were paid in 2018 to a total value of €12.7 m spread evenly across both male and female claimants.
INCOME PROTECTION CLAIMS: BACK INJURIES RANK HIGHEST FOR SEDENTARY WORKFORCE
When it comes to income protection claims, Aviva’s claims statistics show back-related injuries are now a major cause of long-term work absences, accounting for 31% of claims and €13 million from a total of €42m in income protection pay outs in 2018. Orthopaedic conditions are closely followed by psychological claims (22%), cancer claims (21%) and neurological claims (8%) as leading causes of workplace absences. Over half (53%) of Aviva’s claimants were under the age of 50 at the time of claiming income protection with claims spread evenly between men (49%) and women (51%).
Revealing details of the 2018 protection and illness claims Karen Gallagher with Aviva, said: “With a customer base of over one million people across Ireland, Aviva has a significant role to play in enabling people to both plan for, and manage, the risks of everyday life for both themselves and their families. With the claims volumes that we manage, we regularly see the traumatic impact that unforeseen health events can have on families. Having protection in place can provide a genuine security blanket to allow families to focus on what really matters whether this is in the form of financial protection or access to our rehabilitation and support services.
We understand that nobody likes to think about worst case scenario’s in life but we also need to counter balance that with encouraging people to protect what matters to them most. Every three minutes in Ireland someone receives a cancer diagnosis (source: National Cancer Registry of Ireland (NCRI). By as early as next year, the National Cancer Registry anticipates that 1 in 2 people will develop cancer during their lifetime. Cancer related claims are a significant proportion of the claims we handle and we anticipate this growing in the future, which is all the more reason why we are raising awareness of the protection needs of the nation.
Phone Jameson Financial on 01 6854092 or 086 2597809 and get your quotation for Life Insurance & Serious Illness Protection
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