Short answer: UK life insurance claim-paid percentages average 98.7% across the industry. In 2024, every major UK insurer paid above 97% of life insurance claims — Vitality (99.6%), Aviva (99.4%), LV= (99.4%), Scottish Widows (99.5%), Royal London (99.3%).
For who: anyone deciding whether life insurance is worth buying.
Reviewed by: Ben Darke, lifecoverfor.com · Last updated: 2026-06-03
Reviewed by: Ben Darke, lifecoverfor.com · Last updated: 2026-06-03
Key facts (2026)
| Industry average term life claim-paid (2024) | 98.7% (ABI individual protection report) |
| Highest claim-paid term life insurer | Vitality at 99.6% |
| Industry average critical illness claim-paid | ~91% — lower than life because CIC has stricter condition definitions |
| Industry average income protection claim-paid | ~90% — case-by-case medical evidence assessment |
| Main reason claims are declined | Non-disclosure at application (70–80% of declinatures) |
Sources
ABI 2024 protection report, individual insurer 2024 protection reports.
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