Vitality pays £117m in protection claims in 2023
Vitality has today published its protection claims figures for 2023. Over the year, Vitality paid out £117m in protection claims, with 94.6% of claims paid across Life Insurance, Income Protection and Serious Illness Cover (SIC). Vitality has paid out over £446m in protection claims over the last five years.
Vitality paid £83.5m in Life Insurance claims in 2023, £1m in Income Protection claims, and £32.7m in Serious Illness Cover claims.
Claims detail
The 2023 figures find that cancer was the most common cause of claim across all protection products, for both men and women.
Across Serious Illness Cover and Income Protection, the majority of claimants were people in their 30s and 40s, highlighting the importance of having comprehensive cover in place at a younger age.
Last year, one in thirteen Serious Illness Cover claims were paid on plans where a claim had already been made. One in seven of all Serious Illness Cover claims were for conditions not covered by a typical enhanced critical illness plan, reflecting the need for cover that protects against a wider range of conditions and that stays in place following a claim. The conditions most claimed for not covered elsewhere in the market were pulmonary embolisms, rheumatoid arthritis (on diagnosis) and inflammatory bowel disease (without the requirement for surgery).
Optimiser and the Vitality Programme
Vitality’s Claims and Benefits report also highlights that members saved £43m in 2023 through their life insurance with Optimiser, with members initially benefiting from premiums up to 40% lower than standard, which can then be maintained by engaging with the Vitality Programme. Members with Optimiser on their plan were also three times more likely to engage with the Vitality Programme*, and 46% less likely to cancel their plan than people without.
The claims data also showed that members with protection products who are physically active, improve their mortality risk by up to 49%**. This was the equivalent to increasing their life expectancy by almost 5 years. Vitality also supported over 1,100 Life members who were identified as having a high health risk, with targeted health and wellbeing support and programmes, with 47% of members who attended Vitality’s quit smoking programme giving up smoking and 44% achieving targeted weight loss by participating in a targeted programme.
Justin Taurog, managing director of VitalityLife said: “The launch of today’s claims report highlights the value people are getting from their life insurance product - from being there at their point of claim and when they need us, through to helping them live a longer healthier life by engaging with the Vitality Programme. Engagement in the Vitality Programme is ubiquitous across all adults and is driving earlier identification of health issues as well as significant improvements in mortality.
“Our Serious Illness Cover product continues to be unique within the market, paying out based on severity and multiple times. Today’s data show why being able to claim earlier and frequently matters, with the positive impact of advancements in modern medicine and screening in survival rates being felt by us all.”
Notes to editors
*by reaching Silver Vitality status or above.
**Mortality risk and life expectancy (up to 4.8 years) based on members earning 21+ activity points per week throughout their lifetime.
Full report available on the Vitality website.