A survey from British Friendly has show that only 2% of self-employed people surveyed believed Income Protection policies paid out 90% of the time and 45% believed that the main reasons claims were declined was insurers deliberately trying not to pay. This is despite the industry average for accepted Income Protection claims exceeding 90%.
In 2014, Legal and General paid out 93.9% of all claims to the value of £1.46 million. Vitality Life paid out 98% of all Income Protection claims and Aviva paid out 93.2% of claims for over £12 million.
Interestingly, the most important thing self-employed people wanted to know about a policy when looking to buy it is knowing there is a good chance of a claim being paid.
Mark Myers, CEO of British Friendly, said “We need to recognise that because certainty of claims is most important to self-employed clients, providers and advisers need to prioritise how we can effectively communicate to them that insurers pay a very high percentage of Income Protection claims.
“It highlights the need to continue promoting the message that consumers are vulnerable and that those people with insurance policies are better protected and do have their claims paid.”