Cirencester Friendly has paid more than £8 million in benefit in 2021, paying 93.6% of all submitted income protection claims.

During the year a total of 1,324 claim applications were made, of which 98.6% were eligible for consideration. This left 1,305 claims to be considered and of these, 93.6% were paid.

Reasons for declining claims included the inability to provide proof of earnings or medical evidence, no loss of earnings or for previously undisclosed pre-existing conditions.

In 2021 the top reason for claiming and accounting for 37% of all claims were for accident or injury, an increase of almost 24% from 2020, highlighting the value of insuring against the risk of unforeseen incidences.

13.6% of all claims were for Covid-19, resulting in the infectious category being the third highest reason for claiming, behind muscular skeletal and arthritic related claims.

Other claim categories listed included mental health, cancer, heart and circulatory complications.

More than £8m in benefit was paid out to members. This total benefit paid included income protection claims paid in 2021, as well as further payments relating to the Society’s My Extra Benefits contract which provides cover for fractures and hospitalisation, plus death benefits. The Society’s free Added-Value benefit, Children’s Critical Illness Support is also included in the total.

David Macgregor (pictured), commercial director at Cirencester Friendly, said: “We have been publishing detailed and transparent claim statistics for more than 13 years and are justifiably proud of our strong record in this area.

“We hope that by providing informative data, combined with explanations as to why we unfortunately cannot pay claims in certain circumstances, it will assist advisers in providing confidence to their clients that Cirencester Friendly is committed to providing the best possible outcomes for their members and supporting advisers.”