Last year, Scottish Widows paid out more than £199million to their customers across life insurance and critical illness cover
Scottish Widows Claims Statistics (2022)
Scottish Widows are one of the UK biggest insurance and pensions providers. They have now posted their claims statistics for last year (2022). This allows both current and future life and critical illness customers to see how Scottish Widows compares to other providers.
Last year, Scottish Widows paid out more than £199million to their customers across life insurance and critical illness cover. Despite a significant rise in the amount of critical illness claims in 2022 (11% increase), Scottish Widows still paid out 93.3% of claims submitted. The highest amount of claims for both life and critical illness was cancer compared to all other conditions.
It is essential for insurance providers like Scottish Widows to publish their claims statistics each year. This transparency allows customers and regulators to assess the value of these policies and the likelihood of them paying out.
Who are Scottish Widows?
Scottish Widows has provided UK residents with life cover to protect their homes and families for almost 200 years. They are also well known for their other financial products and services, including pensions and investments.
They also offer various benefits to their customers such as Scottish Widows Care, an emotional support and counselling service plus remote GP and prescription services.
Scottish Widows currently has more than 6 million customers in the UK, across all their products.
Find out more – Scottish Widows Life Insurance Review
Why are claims statistics so important?
It should be considered a red flag if insurance providers are unwilling to discuss their claim statistics openly. It is vital for a financial services business to be transparent in their practices, especially to their customers and the regulators.
For full transparency, claims statistics should outline:
- The percentage (%) of successful claims
- The percentage (%) of unsuccessful claims (usually accompanied by the reasons why these claims were denied)
- The total amount paid out that year (also the amount paid per insurance policy type)
- Top claims paid
Prospective customers can seek reassurance in claims statistics, assessing how likely they would be to receive a pay out if needed. If the number of successful claims is far lower for one product, this could prompt the customer to look elsewhere for that cover. Simply put, claims help consumers work out whether the insurer is the right choice for them and if the products are good value for money.
About Scottish Widows Claims 2022
Here we have the key claims statistics for Scottish Widows in 2022.
These statistics are based on Scottish Widows life insurance claims and Scottish Widows critical illness claims.
Overall statistics
- Total amount paid out [2022]: £199million
- % of successful claims: 98%
- Total amount paid out per day: Over £800,000 (working days)
- Amount paid out for terminal illness claims: Over £8million
Life Insurance claims
- Total amount paid out [2022]: £122.8million
- % of successful claims: 99.4%
- Number of successful claims: 8,555
- Average claim pay out: £53,553
Note: The amount of life insurance claims paid out in 2022 decreased 15% since 2021. The total paid out in life claims for 2021 was £132.9million. This is however the 4th consecutive year where the percentage of life claims paid out was more than 98%.
Critical illness cover claims
- Total amount paid out [2022]: £86.2million
- % of successful claims: 93.3%
- Number of successful claims: 1,552
- Average claim pay out: £55,546
- Top reasons for claims: Cancer (63%), Heart attack (11%), Multiple Sclerosis (3%)
Why is life insurance important?
Life insurance is a low-cost way to offer your family financial security in the event of your death. These policies will pay out a cash lump sum that can be used to cover important expenses such as funeral costs or mortgage repayments.
The type of life insurance needed will vary from person to person and of course you can choose not to have it if you wish. It is generally advisable to have some form of cover in place, to help your loved ones avoid financial difficulties.
More about life insurance:
Do I need critical illness cover?
Critical illness cover will pay out a cash lump sum if you were to be diagnosed with a serious medical condition. This condition does need to be covered in the terms and conditions of your policy. Every insurer will have different critical illness definitions and some will provide a higher level of cover than others.
Scottish Widows critical illness insurance will cover you for up to 40 specified medical conditions. Some conditions will qualify for a booster payment (your full sum assured in your policy plus an additional 50%). Children’s critical illness cover is also included as standard with all adult policies.
More about critical illness cover:
How to claim with Scottish Widows
If you need to submit a claim with Scottish Widows, you should be able to find all the relevant information on their website. In most cases you should be able to submit a Scottish Widows claim form online.
For bereavement claims, there are a few details it will be helpful to have before contacting Scottish Widows to begin the claim process.
- Your name, address and contact details
- The policyholder’s name and policy number
- The policyholder’s address and date of birth
- Are you their next of kin? If not, who is the next of kin?
- Your relationship to the deceased
- Details of bank accounts held by the deceased with any Lloyd’s Banking Group banks e.g. Lloyds, Bank of Scotland, Halifax. Scottish Widows can help you close these accounts.
Scottish Widows claims phone number
Tel. 0345 601 4179
Opening hours: Monday to Friday 9am-5pm
How to buy Scottish Widows life insurance
It’s always advisable to speak to a life insurance specialist before buying a new policy or reviewing your current one. There are a range of policies and providers available, and an expert will be able to assess your needs and help you find the most suitable options.
Every insurance provider will have pros and cons, so it is best to think carefully before choosing something as important as your life insurance. Certain providers will be better suited to particular applicants e.g. those with medical conditions or high risk occupations.
For proper life insurance advice, call 0800 009 6559 or CLICK HERE to submit an enquiry online.
