Overall, £3.6 billion was paid out in protection claims, according to the latest published figures from the Association of British Insurers (ABI), which means that every day, insurers paid out more than £10m to help individuals and their families cope with the financial strains and worries that can be caused by a life changing event.

Over 129,000 people benefited from vital financial support in 2015 to help deal with the unexpected impact of serious illness, injury or a family death.

ABI member insurers work together to make sure customers benefit even more from their protection policies by helping people better understand their cover and what they can claim for, as well as improving the handling of claims. This, along with industry effort to help customers understand the type of information they must provide when they buy protection policies, has seen the number of declined claims continue to fall. As a result, in 2015 the number of claims declined across protection products was less than 3%.

Insurers are in business to pay claims, not to decline them. When claims are declined this is usually due the customer not disclosing important information when taking out the policy, or claiming for a condition that is not covered on the policy. As with all insurance products, it is important that customers answer questions fully and accurately, as this will minimise delay or problems if a claim needs to be made.

At Essential Insurance we are committed to helping people make informed decisions about which protection insurance product is right for them and how to prevent having a claim declined.

People often make a claim on protection cover at what can be a very challenging time, so insurers want the claims process to be as smooth and straightforward as possible for their customers. This is why we work hard to help our customers clearly understand what their policies do and don’t cover.

2015 protection insurance claims pay-outs included:

• Over 28,000 families receiving pay-outs for term life insurance claims, with an average pay-out of £53,790.  Over 98% of claims were paid.
• Over 18,000 people received an average of £66,186 from critical illness. Over 93% of claims were paid.
• Over 13,000 people received payments from income protection policies, with insurers paying out an average of almost £9,800 per claimant.

The ABI states that the small number of declined claims reported were due to fraud or customers not giving their insurer important information about their circumstances when they bought the insurance.

Tell us about any change in your circumstances
If you have life insurance, it's a good idea to regularly review your cover to make sure it’s right for you and your family circumstances. Celebrating a new addition to the family? Moving home? Stopped smoking? As life changes, your life insurance policy needs to change as well to ensure your family is fully protected if the worst happens to you or your partner.

Need help with a claim?
We’re here to help our customers when you need it and we can support you all the way through the process, helping your family to speed up payments and ensuring they'll get everything they're due.

Essential Insurance is here for you, for further information or advice simply contact us on 0800 612 8005.