Protection Insurers Paid £7.84bn in 2025 as Claims Acceptance Remains High
Published: 29 June 2026
UK protection insurers paid £7.84 billion in individual and workplace protection claims during 2025, with 97.9% of individual claims paid, according to new industry figures.
The data, published by the Association of British Insurers (ABI) and Group Risk Development (GRiD), provides one of the clearest annual pictures of how life insurance, critical illness and income protection policies are responding when customers die, become seriously ill or are unable to work.
Across individual policies alone, insurers paid £5.15 billion during 2025.
A total of 258,000 new individual claims were paid, while the average individual claim increased to £19,300.
Life insurance accounted for the largest share of payments, with insurers paying £4.03 billion during the year and accepting 96.7% of new life insurance claims.
The figures provide useful reassurance for consumers who worry that protection insurers rarely pay claims.
They also highlight why the relatively small proportion of claims that are declined still deserves attention.
Most protection claims are being paid
The latest figures show that claims acceptance across individual protection remains high.
The ABI says the overall percentage of individual claims paid has remained at or above 97.9% for more than a decade.
That does not mean every claim will automatically succeed.
Protection insurance is a contract, and a claim still needs to meet the terms agreed when the policy was taken out.
But the latest figures challenge the idea that insurers routinely avoid paying valid claims.
Individual insurers releasing their own 2025 data during the spring claims-reporting season have reported similarly high acceptance rates.
Aviva, for example, said it accepted 98.7% of individual life and terminal illness claims during 2025, paying more than £860 million across more than 40,000 claims.
The wider industry figures now place those individual company reports into context.
Why are some life insurance claims declined?
Claims data is most useful when the reasons behind unsuccessful claims are also understood.
Life insurance applications typically ask questions about areas such as:
- Medical history
- Current and previous medication
- Investigations and tests
- Smoking and nicotine use
- Alcohol consumption
- Occupation
- Hazardous activities
- Previous medical symptoms or diagnoses
The insurer uses those answers to decide whether it can offer cover and, if so, on what terms.
Insurer claims reports continue to identify misrepresentation or non-disclosure of relevant health and lifestyle information as an important reason why some protection claims are declined.
That makes accuracy at application important.
Answer the question actually being asked
Applicants do not need to decide for themselves whether a medical condition is important to an insurer.
They need to answer the question asked accurately.
A condition that seems minor to the applicant may still be relevant to underwriting.
Conversely, disclosing a medical problem does not automatically mean an insurer will refuse cover.
Depending on the circumstances, an insurer might:
- Offer normal terms
- Increase the premium
- Ask for additional medical information
- Apply particular terms
- Postpone a decision
- Decline an application
The outcome depends on factors such as the condition, severity, treatment, time since symptoms and the type of insurance being requested.
Our guide to life insurance with a pre-existing medical condition explains how medical history can affect new applications.
What happens if information is wrong?
Not every incorrect answer is treated in the same way.
Insurance law distinguishes between different forms of misrepresentation, and the outcome can depend on what happened and what the insurer would have done if it had received the correct information.
Deliberate or reckless misrepresentation can have serious consequences and may result in a claim being declined.
A careless mistake may be treated differently, potentially resulting in a reduced payment or another proportionate remedy depending on the circumstances.
That is why guessing is rarely helpful.
If someone cannot remember a diagnosis, medication or date, it may be better to check available records or ask the insurer or adviser what information is required.
Critical illness claims work differently
The reasons a critical illness claim may not be paid can differ from those applying to life insurance.
Critical illness insurance pays when a diagnosis meets the definition contained within the policy.
A person can therefore have a genuine and serious medical diagnosis without necessarily meeting the contractual definition needed for payment.
Aviva's 2025 claims data, for example, said the majority of declined critical illness claims were cases where the diagnosis did not meet the policy definition.
That distinction is important.
Critical illness insurance is not designed to pay following every illness.
It pays following specified conditions when the required medical criteria are satisfied.
Our guide to life insurance versus critical illness cover explains why the two types of protection operate differently.
Claims percentages do not tell the whole story
A high claims-paid percentage is an important measure, but it is not the only part of the claims experience that matters.
Families making a claim may also care about:
- How quickly the insurer responds
- What documents are required
- Whether medical evidence needs to be obtained
- How frequently they receive updates
- Whether funeral payments can be advanced
- Whether bereavement support is available
- How trusts or probate affect the payment
A life insurance claim will normally require evidence of the policyholder's death and confirmation that the policy remained in force.
Some claims can be straightforward.
Others can take longer where additional medical information, probate or questions over policy ownership are involved.
Our guide to how long a life insurance payout takes explains some of the factors that can affect the process.
Families need to know the policy exists
A policy can only provide practical support if the people left behind know where to find it.
Life insurance may have been arranged 10, 20 or 30 years before a claim.
During that time people can:
- Move home
- Change email addresses
- Switch banks
- Change advisers
- Lose paperwork
- Change family circumstances
Policyholders may therefore want to make sure a trusted relative or executor knows that cover exists and which insurer holds it.
They do not necessarily need access to every personal financial document while the policyholder is alive.
They simply need enough information to know where to begin if a claim eventually has to be made.
Trusts can affect how a payout is handled
The way a life insurance policy is structured can also affect what happens after death.
Where a policy is written in an appropriate trust, the insurer may be able to pay the proceeds to the trustees rather than into the deceased person's estate.
That can sometimes mean the insurance proceeds do not need to wait for probate before being dealt with.
Trustees will still need to provide the required evidence and follow the terms of the trust.
Our guide to who receives a life insurance payout explains why the answer can depend on policy ownership, trusts and the structure of the cover.
What should consumers take from the latest figures?
The latest ABI and GRiD figures provide strong evidence that protection insurance is paying substantial sums to households dealing with bereavement, serious illness and loss of income.
A 97.9% individual claims acceptance rate is particularly relevant to the persistent concern that insurers generally try to avoid paying.
But the remaining declined claims also reinforce several practical points.
Applications need to be accurate.
Policy definitions matter.
Premiums need to remain paid so that cover stays active.
And the people who may eventually need to claim should be able to find the policy.
The strongest reassurance therefore comes from more than the headline claims percentage.
It comes from the combination of high claims-payment rates, accurate applications, understandable policy terms and practical preparation before a claim is ever needed.
Sources
- Association of British Insurers and Group Risk Development — Protection insurers pay out £7.84 billion to help customers safeguard their finances, 29 June 2026
- Aviva — Aviva paid nearly £2 billion in protection claims in 2025, 25 March 2026
Important information
This article is for general information only and does not constitute financial or insurance advice. Policy definitions, underwriting, exclusions and claims requirements vary between insurers and products. Applicants should answer insurance questions accurately and check the relevant policy documents when arranging or reviewing cover.
