Holloway Friendly paid 96.9% of all income protection claims last year, a rise of almost 1% over the 96% paid out in 2014.

Of the claims not paid out, 33% were because of non-disclosure of existing medical conditions at the point that the policy was underwritten which would have meant that the policy would not have been accepted or a condition would have been excluded.

The level of identified non-disclosure has increased by 60% over previous years. Holloway Friendly said this was partly due to its telephone underwriting system; implemented in 2010, the recorded tele-underwriting has meant it is easier to both check and pick up an answer at the point of the claim that does not match what was disclosed at the point of application, it said.

Mat Manser (pictured), sales & marketing director for Holloway Friendly, said: “Holloway Friendly has an exceptionally high pay out rate on claims which improves every year, showing that we continue to support our members when they need us the most, be it in paid claims or by meeting their changing needs with continually evolving products and services.

“While our level of pay-outs for genuine claimants is almost second to none, the rise in the number of non-disclosure cases brings home the important role that brokers pay in explaining to their clients how the claims process works and the importance of telling the whole truth at the point of application.”