Over $3 billion was paid to Australians in 2008 as a result of claims on retail life insurance policies, according to the risk store.
Following last week’s initial announcement on the risk store’s 2008 retail life risk industry claims statistics (see previous story - Claims Numbers Up in 2008), the firm has released further details, headlining with the $3 billion claims pay-out figure.
The $3 billion paid out in 2008 compares to a total pay-out of $2.1 billion in 2007, however, there were two additional insurance companies (BT Financial Group and MetLife) who contributed their data for 2008.
But risk store Managing Director, Sue Laing, said this increase was also indicative of more successful advice processes by advisers, particularly around Total and Permanent Disablement (TPD) and Trauma insurance product solutions, which saw the combined pay-outs for these two categories jump from around $450 million in 2007 to over $700 million in 2008.
The living insurances become ever more crucial to the population as medical advances continue to deliver survival and longevity improvements
Ms Laing believes the trend to higher TPD and Trauma claims is an evolutionary outcome, commenting that “The living insurances become ever more crucial to the population as medical advances continue to deliver survival and longevity improvements.”
The growing participation of the life companies is also seen as a step forward for the industry, reflecting, according to the risk store, ‘… the industry’s growing willingness to be more transparent and to work harder to engage consumers in life risk concepts.’
The risk store also notes that while a number of insurance companies are releasing statistics on causes of claims, not all are doing so, and it hopes that in future there will be more information shared by the life companies with advisers and consumers.
Complete claims paid statistics can be accessed and downloaded by risk store members at www.theriskstore.com.au.
