Scottish Widows claims pay out £199million

Scottish Widows have this week published their claims statistics for 2022. Last year, the total paid out to support Scottish Widows customers and their families was over £199million. This figure includes pay outs from both life and critical illness cover policies.

Although the amount of critical illness claims submitted was higher (11% rise), there was an increase in the number of claims paid out (93.3% total). 2022 was the 4th consecutive year where Scottish Widows has paid out on 98% or more of their claims overall.

Is it important for providers to publish claims statistics?

It is extremely important for life insurance providers to post their claims statistics every year, as this builds trust and transparency between themselves and consumers. We would be very wary of any insurance provider who is not willing to publish their claims facts and figures.

Scottish Widows are a financial services business and so are heavily regulated. Honest communication with the public and regulators about their practices is something they must do. Claims figures can be used by customers to assess the value of their policies and if they are likely to receive a pay out when they most need it.

About Scottish Widows

Scottish Widows is well known in the UK for their various financial products and services. They offer a range of products including:

Life insurance
Critical illness cover
Pensions
Investments
Savings accounts
Mortgages

Types of life insurance sold by Scottish Widows

Scottish Widows has been operating in the UK for almost 200 years and currently has more than 6 million customers. They have won various awards for their policies and customer service, including 2022 5 Star Protection & Pension Provider (Financial Times Adviser Service Awards).

Learn more – Scottish Widows Life Insurance

Scottish Widows Claims Statistics 2022

	Scottish Widows life insurance claims	Scottish Widows critical illness claims
Total paid out (2022)	£122.8million	£82.6million
Number of successful claims	8,555	1,552
Percentage of claims paid	99.4%	93.3%
Average amount paid out	£53,533	£55,546

Scottish Widows paid out £199million to customers overall in 2022, with more than £800,000 paid out each working day. Over £8million was paid out to customers for terminal illness claims. Most claims across both life insurance and critical illness cover were for cancer compared to all other conditions.

This is the 4th year where Scottish Widows has had an overall claims approval of 98% or higher for individual protection.

Top reasons for Scottish Widows claims 2022

These are the top reasons for Scottish Widows claims last year by policy type.

Life insurance – Cancer (42% of claims for men, 28% of claims for women), Heart attack (29% of claims for men, 12.5% of claims for women)

Critical illness cover – 63% = Cancer, 11% = Heart attack, 3% = MS (Multiple sclerosis)

Scottish Widows: Make a claim

Scottish Widows wil do their best to support you during the claims process and make things as simple as they can. This is what you need to know before submitting a bereavement claim. You will need to have the following details available:

The deceased’s name and policy number (if known)
The deceased’s date of birth and address (if policy number isn’t known)
Your contact details and relationship to the deceased
Details of the next of kin (if this is not you)
Details of any accounts held with Lloyd’s banking group e.g. bank accounts with Lloyd’s, Halifax or Bank of Scotland. As part of the same group, they can help you close these accounts, saving you from multiple phone calls.

Scottish Widows claims number

Life insurance claims: Telephone – 0345 601 4179

Opening times: Monday to Friday 9.00am – 5.00pm

Should I buy a Scottish Widows insurance policy?

Insurance is an easy and cost-effective way to provide financial protection for yourself and your family. Without a life insurance policy in place, your loved ones may struggle to afford key expenses such as funeral costs if you died.

There are various policies available, each with their own pros and cons. Many people with a family or mortgage to think about choose to have multiple policies for extra protection. This could include life insurance, critical illness cover or income protection.

All insurers will work slightly different and what suits one person may not suit another. If you have pre-existing conditions for example, it is always best to get advice from a life insurance expert. A life insurance specialist will know which insurers will be your best choices for affordable and good quality cover.

All insurance providers will also vary in the benefits they offer their customers. Scottish Widows can provide a range of benefits to their policyholder’s such as:

FREE terminal illness benefit included with all Scottish Widows life insurance policies. This allows you to access the benefit in your policy early if you are diagnosed with an illness with a life expectancy of 12 months or less.
Scottish Widows Care support service can provide qualified counselling plus remote GP services.
FREE accident death cover while your application is being processed (90 days cover maximum)
Life Cover Buy back allows you to keep your life insurance at its current pricing after claiming on a combined life and critical illness policy (optional benefit).

If you’re thinking about choosing Scottish Widows to protect your home and family, speak to one of our friendly experts. Our team have years of expertise working with Scottish Widows and are proud to include them in our carefully chosen panel of partners.