Income protection provider Cirencester Friendly paid 95.7% of claims in 2019, up on the 95.2% recorded during the previous year.
A total of 1,275 claim applications were made in 2019, of which 1,255 claims were considered and 95.7% of these paid. In total, nearly £5.9 million was paid out.
Reasons for rejecting claims included the inability to provide proof of earnings or medical evidence, no loss of earnings following the illness or injury and claims for previously undisclosed pre-existing conditions, the group said.
The most common cause of claim was accident or injury, which accounted for over two fifths (43.5%) of applications. Other claims included depression, cancer, heart and circulatory problems, Cirencester Friendly added.
The number of claims for accidents and injury has spiked since 2010, when just over a quarter (28%) of the 94% claims paid out were as a result of accidents or injuries.
Paul Hudson, chief executive, Cirencester Friendly, said: “There has always been a strong belief amongst consumers that illness or injury simply won’t happen to them and that if it does, the government will provide sufficient financial support, This is sadly misguided, and we seek to dispel this myth.
“Likewise, consumers appear to broadly believe that insurance companies do not pay claims. Publishing our claims statistics in the level of detail that we do enables us to help advisers and their clients understand why we very occasionally need to decline a claim, in turn helping alleviate customer concerns whilst emphasising the need for good income protection cover.”
