The Association of British Insurers (ABI) has revealed that insurers received 7,000 life insurance claims, and paid £90 million, to support the families of people who died due to Covid-19 during the height of the crisis.
This equates to £980,000 every day.
Between 1 March and 31 May this year, 6,689 claims were received under individual protection policies, with 351 claims under group schemes (also including a small number of critical illness and total permanent disability claims), with a total of £90 million paid. These figures equate to 77 claims worth £980,000 every day during the period in which the data was collected.
The vast majority of these claims -83% – have been paid so far. Across life insurance claims, these figures show that every life insurance claim has so far been accepted.
The average payout on term insurance is expected to be £63,000, with an average payout of £137,000 on group policies.
Roshani Hill, ABI’s assistant director, head of protection and health, said: “Every Covid-19 death is a tragedy. While no amount of money can ever replace a life, insurers have been doing all that they can to help families cope financially through these unprecedented and distressing times.
“We know that coronavirus has long lasting impacts, and protection insurers will continue to support families hit by this tragedy. No one knows what is round the corner, which is why protecting yourself and your family against the worst is vitally important.”
Craig Paterson, interim chief underwriter at Royal London, added: “At Royal London we have paid out claims to families of more than 1,200 customers as a result of deaths due to Covid-19, with the value of the claims totalling around £8.5m. Receiving a payout can help to ease the financial strain of bereavement, however money can’t always ease the emotional strain.
“Our Helping Hand service offered through all of our protection policies is available to customers and their families, so they can receive the emotional support they need to help them through this difficult time.”