Protection, investment and pensions provider LV= paid out close to £137m in personal protection claims in 2024.

The payouts are a record for LV= and a £2m increase year-on-year.

The provider paid 95% of individual protection claims for life insurance, critical illness and income protection to close to 8,000 policyholders and their families.

Of the 5% of claims not paid out, over 70% were due to misrepresentation or fraud.

Life insurance claims accounted for the bulk of the claims for 2024 at over £80m. LV= paid 97% of the claims made to over 5,200 families. The top causes for claims were cancer (40%), heart-related conditions (20%), respiratory (11%) and dementia or stroke (4%). The average age for claimants was 66 years old.

In 2024 LV= paid £18.2m in income protection claims to over 1,100 individuals. A third (39%) of claims were for musculoskeletal issues, 21% related to cancer and 15% related to mental health. The average length of claim was five years and eight months.

Critical illness claims accounted for £33m of the pay outs to over 429 individuals and their families. Two thirds (65%) of the claims were for cancer, followed by heart attack (10%), and stroke (7%).

Personal sick pay protection saw over £4m paid to over 1,000 individuals. Top occupations for claimants were HGV drivers, factory workers, warehouse workers, builders and joiners / carpenters. The top reasons for claims were musculoskeletal (48%), fractures (9%), coughs, colds, flu and sore throats (5%) and mental health (5%).

Over the past five years, the provider has paid out over £630m in personal protection claims to 38,000 individuals and families.

Anna Rogers, head of underwriting and claims at LV=, said in 2024 the provider saw a significant rise in the usage of its mental health support, up 61% compared to 2023.

She added that LV= research shows that over half of working people have experience at least one life event in the last three years where protection could have supported.