We are pleased to announce that we paid out 95% of Income Protection claims in 2021, which amounted to a total of £2.5 million being paid out to our members, who were unable to work due to illness or injury, last year. We are also delighted to have paid out an average of 95.2% of claims over the past five years.

Almost half of claims received (43%) were made due to musculoskeletal issues, followed by 15% of claims for mental health, and 14% for issues related to Covid-19.

Common reasons for the small percentage of declined claims included non-disclosure of underlying medical problems or not meeting the terms and conditions of the plan.

We also paid out £12,000 to the families of members who unfortunately died during the term of their plan, which is part of our additional Death Benefit, available at no extra cost to all Income Protection members as part of our Enhanced Income Protection Benefits.

Our Chief Executive, Ann-Marie O’Dea, said: “As a financial mutual that is built on fairness, everything we do is for our members, not shareholders. We are pleased again to report a high level of pay-out across a range of conditions on our income protection policies, demonstrating the valuable support we have given our members at the time they have needed it the most.”

Our record of paying out a high number of claims is also reported to have a positive impact in the intermediary sector. Ben Mason, from LightBlue UK, shared: “We’re pleased to see mutual insurers continuing to achieve high claims paid rates. It’s important that insurers keep this up because consumers think insurers pay out far less than they actually do.”

Additional benefits for your clients

As a mutual, we are built on values that ensure our members receive the financial support and rehabilitative care they are entitled to when they need it most. All of our Income Protection members can access Nuffield Health Benefits, which include free and unlimited access to 24/7 Virtual GP appointments, emotional wellbeing support and discounted gym membership. These benefits allow those who are unwell to get the help that they need faster, with significantly reduced waiting times (compared to regular GP appointments).

Contact us

If you would like to know more about our Income Protection, please get in touch with our Business Development team on 0161 495 6495 during our office hours (Monday to Thursday, 9.00am – 5.00pm; Friday, 9.00am – 4.00pm) or contact [email protected].