Life insurance claims payments increased by more than 11% in 2011, according to data released this week by the risk store.
In its annual Life Industry Claims Payments study, the risk store reports the value of life insurance product claims paid during 2011 totalled just under $4 billion, an overall increase of 11.4% on 2010 numbers. This also represents what the risk store calls a ‘whopping’ 96% increase over its 2006 result, which was the first year in which it gathered and published this information.
… this is a good-news story that the industry should be shouting out from the rooftops
risk store MD, Peter Wincott, commented “Not surprisingly this unique service has evolved to be one of our most significant contributions to the industry and our most popular with our members.” Mr Wincott added that this is a good-news story that the industry should be shouting out from the rooftops.
In response to demand from its members for more information about the causes of claims, the reporting for 2011 includes details about the top three causes of lump sum claims, split by term, trauma and TPD cover types. For term insurance in 2011, the three main causes for claims were:
- Cancer
- Heart disease
- Accidental death
The 2011 statistics include:
- Total dollars paid for Term, TPD, Trauma & Income Protection
- The number of claims made for each product type
- Indicative Business Expenses paid stats
- Top three causes for Term, TPD, Trauma claims
- How much on average is paid every working day; and
- To how many on average per working day
“We’d be thrilled to see the industry push this good news harder to consumers via the broader media” says Sue Laing, founder of the risk store. “Despite regulation overload, this industry still manages to make an enormous contribution to Australians and the economy overall”.
The 2011 risk store Life Industry Claims Payments Study statistics are available to members to download from the risk store’s website.
