New Ireland pays out its highest amount ever in life insurance claims

New Ireland Assurance has today released its 2017 claims statistics revealing a record of more than €111 million in protection claims were paid out last year. These included life cover payments of over €70.5 million, specified illness claims of over €28 million and income protection claims of over €11 million.

The average claim by individuals for life cover was €51,358 in 2017 with 63% of claims related to men. Cancer was still the biggest cause of claims for life cover (38%) and heart related claims experienced a slight increase from 14% to 17% in 2017.

The average claim by individuals for specified illness in 2017 was €73,299 compared with €69,898 in 2016. 58% of claims related to men and the average age of claimants was just 51 with the youngest being 25 years old. Cancer related illness claims accounted for over half (56%) of specified illness claims and heart related claims one-fifth (21%).

Almost one third (29%) of income protection claims were related to mental illness, with a smaller proportion (22%) related to musculoskeletal issues and one in five (20%) related to cancer. Over two thirds (71%) of new claims for income protection were made by women last year.

David Hennessy, Head of Claims for New Ireland, commented: “Supporting customers when its needed most is what we have been doing for 100 years. In 1918, we paid out £213 and 9d in claims and in 2017 we paid 4,434 claims to customers and their families, amounting to a record €111,326,961.

“In terms of changing trends in 2017, we witnessed an increased amount of terminal illness claims and expect to see many more as knowledge and awareness of this important policy feature becomes better known.

“Insurance companies are here to pay valid claims and support people at the most vulnerable points in their lifetime. It is in everyone’s interests to protect their family against the financial difficulties that are caused by an unexpected illness, accident or death.” Claims statistics from New Ireland for 2017 include:

Life Cover Claims

  • Claims of €70,538,983 in 2017 versus €66,573,237 in 2016
  • The youngest claimant was 29 years old
  • Average pay out was €51,358
  • Cancer (38%) and heart (17%) accounting for more half of life claims

Specified Illness Claims

  • €28,155,288 was paid out for specified illness claims in 2017 versus €26,285,733 in 2016
  • Average pay out was €73,299
  • 58% of claimants were male

Income Protection Claims

  • €11,080,573 was paid out in 2017 for income protection claims versus €10,144,194 in 2016
  • The major reasons for income protection claims were mental illness (29%), musculoskeletal (22%) and cancer (20%)
  • 71% of new claims were made by women

New Ireland paid out over €105million in life insurance cover in 2016.