Insurers paid out £7.84bn last year, and said yes to 98% of claims
New industry figures are a reassuring answer to a very common worry: if the worst happens, will my family actually get the money?
One of the biggest reasons people put off buying life cover is a quiet doubt that the insurer will find a way to wriggle out of paying when it matters. New figures from the Association of British Insurers (ABI) and Group Risk Development (GRiD) suggest that fear is largely unfounded. Across 2025, protection policies paid out £7.84 billion to families facing bereavement, illness or injury, the equivalent of £21.5 million every single day.
Looking just at the individual policies people buy for themselves (life insurance, critical illness and income protection), 97.9% of claims were paid. That figure has stayed at or above that level for more than a decade. Insurers settled 258,000 individual claims, with the average payout coming in at £19,300, and almost two-thirds of critical illness claims were for cancer.
In plain terms: if you have cover and you claim, the odds are overwhelmingly that you will be paid. Where claims do fail, it is usually because of missing or inaccurate details on the original application, so it really pays to answer every question fully and honestly when you first apply.
Based on reporting by Actuarial Post (1 July 2026). Information only, not advice.
Information only. This is general information, not financial, tax or legal advice, and not a personal recommendation. Claims figures are from ABI and GRiD data and reflect the industry as a whole, not any single provider. Tax rules depend on your circumstances and can change. Please speak to a qualified, FCA-regulated adviser before acting.