£113m was paid out by Aegon UK in claims for life (including terminal illness), critical illness (CI) and income protection (IP), helping more than 1,200 customers, families and businesses in 2014.

Aegon paid 98% of life protection claims in 2014, representing payments amounting to £59.8m. The average size of claim paid was £96,658 with the highest claim of £4.1m for a death caused by an accident.

Of the life claims that were declined in 2014, most were due to misrepresentation. Cancer continued to be the most common cause of death in a life claim (44%), followed by cardiovascular conditions (21%) and the average age at claim was 59 years old.

In 2014, Aegon also paid 95% of terminal illness claims. This represented payments of just over £25m.

Terminal illness benefit forms part of the Aegon life protection contract and pays the life benefit early for people diagnosed with an illness which will reduce their life expectancy to less than 12 months. These claims are assessed separately from life protection claims.

Aegon paid 93% of critical illness claims, remaining broadly in line with the claims paid in 2013. This represented a total value of £28.2m paid.

The average size of claim paid was £78,520 with the highest claim of £600,000 being paid out for a breast cancer claim.

Of the critical illness claims declined in 2014, 5% were due to the definition not being met and the remaining 2% were due to misrepresentation.

Five critical illnesses – cancer, heart attack, stroke, multiple sclerosis and benign brain tumour – accounted for 91% of critical illness claims. Cancer alone accounted for 64% of critical illness claims in 2014, followed by heart attacks (13.5%) and strokes (8%).The average age at claim for CI was 48 years old.

Aegon’s income protection claims experience reveals that last year, Aegon UK paid just over 92% of new claims received, remaining broadly in line with the claims paid in 2013, and almost £800,000 in regular monthly benefits. To complement the payment of claims, Aegon has also provided a more practical aspect to aid the recovery of income protection claimants by providing rehabilitation services to income protection claimants where appropriate, helping them get back to work.

Dougy Grant (pictured), protection director at Aegon UK, said: “In terms of statistics, our claims performance is solid – paying out 98% for life, 93% for critical illness and 92% for income protection claims. We have reported our claims experience for around 8 years and over the years we’ve worked hard to reduce incidents of misrepresentation and ensure that customers have the best claims experience. The strength of these figures is a credit to the quality and clarity of our proposition as a whole.

“We always look to pay claims, putting customers and their needs at the heart of what we do. We value our customers beyond the point of sale and through the life of the policy. If they find themselves having to make a claim and deal with the emotional and financial upheaval a death or illness can bring, we’re here for our customers when it really matters. Our experienced team of claims assessors can handle and support every customer in their time of need.

“Each customer and their family will have a different, difficult situation they are dealing with and appreciate the sensitivity our claims assessors offer.

“As part of our mission to provide a seamless claims experience, we continuously improve our claims process and this year will enhance our systems to ensure our customers receive the best experience.”