Vitality paid £96m in life claims to its members in 2022
Vitality has published its life claims statistics for 2022, which shows it paid out 96.6% of all protection claims totalling £96m in protection claims in 2022. This equates to a total of 2,440 claims paid across its Life and Terminal Illness, Serious Illness, and Income Protection products.
Life and Terminal Illness
Vitality paid 99.7% of Life claims in 2022, which equated to a total of £60m. Once again, cancer was the most common cause for a Life claim, followed by heart and artery-related causes and respiratory illnesses. However, the new data reveals the impact of COVID-19 has come down from the 4th leading cause of claim in 2021 to the 7th in 2022.
Serious Illness Cover
In 2022, 92.5%* of Serious Illness Cover claims were paid, equating to £35.5m. For both men and women, cancer was the top claims cause in 2022, however it had a much bigger impact on women, accounting for almost 70% of claims. While the top three Serious Illness Cover claims were for cancer, heart attacks, and strokes, 32% were for other illnesses including gastrointestinal illnesses, respiratory illnesses, and connective tissue diseases.
Serious Illness Cover pays out on a wider range of conditions impacting a member’s lifestyle, not only those that are critical. As such, 1-in-8 claims paid by Vitality would not have been covered by a competitor’s typical enhanced critical illness plan in 2022**. Serious Illness Cover has been designed to remain in place following a claim***, to protect against recurrences and progressive illnesses, and in 2022 one in 12 serious illness claims were from claimants who have previously had a payout on their plan.
Income Protection
On Income Protection plans in 2022, musculoskeletal claims were the leading cause of claims (34%) followed closely by cancer (29%) and mental health (14%). Together, these accounted for over 75% of all claims.
The Power of Shared Value
The Vitality Life Claims and Benefits Report reflects the considerable impact engaging with the Vitality Programme has. Those who remain active and claim their weekly and monthly rewards through the Vitality programme have a significantly lower mortality risk, with up to a 41% drop in mortality rates depending on their level of activity.
With prevention at the heart of its offerings, Vitality rewards members, who’ve taken steps to improve their health, with discounts, rewards, and lower premiums on their insurance plan.
In 2022, £42m was saved by members who received lower premiums for engaging with their health through Vitality’s Optimiser. On top of this, £60m was returned to members through rewards and led to an average saving for these members of 28% of their annual premium.
In 2022, Vitality members redeemed:
• 60,000 discounted activity trackers
• 69,000 pairs of discounted sports shoes from Runners Need
• 1.6m handcrafted beverages from Caffè Nero
• 744,000 cinema tickets
• 1.2m Healthy Food purchases from Waitrose & Partners
Justin Taurog, managing director of VitalityLife said: “Our shared value insurance products have always had positive customer outcomes at their foundation, and we welcome the introduction of Consumer Duty.
“As well as ensuring our members get value and a framework to get healthier from day one, we're also dedicated to ensuring we’re there when they need us most. The fact we paid out over £96m across Life, Serious Illness Cover, and Income Protection Cover in 2022 demonstrates this.
“Furthermore, these numbers highlight how we go further than traditional insurance by paying claims where others wouldn’t and by keeping cover in place following a claim to protect against recurrences and secondary illnesses, even into later life.
“But being there for our members is also about being there every step of the way. It’s about supporting them with the tools needed to make sustainable changes for a healthier, longer life, in order to protect them from foreseeable harm in the future and, ultimately, deliver good client outcomes whether a claim is made or not.”
Notes to editors
| Product | Amount Paid | Percentage Paid |
| Life | £60m | 99.7% |
| Serious Illness Cover | £35.5m | 92.5% |
| Income Protection | £800,000 | 97.7% |
*92.5% of Serious Illness Cover claims were paid in 2022, however a small number were declined. The majority of these were down to not meeting the plan definition, while the remainder were due to non-disclosure or pre-existing conditions preventing a successful claim from being made.
** “This comparison to other products in the market is based on VitalityLife’s analysis of the difference between VitalityLife’s latest Serious Illness Cover and a typical core critical illness contract
***Serious Illness Cover 2X and 3X can pay out two and three times, respectively, the level of cover selected through multiple claims.