Legal & General paid out £606m to policyholders for critical illness, life, terminal illness and income protection claims in 2016.

This represents a £64m increase on 2015 and means the insurer paid an average of £1.65m every day to its customers in 2016, up from £1.5m in 2015.

It paid 98.6% of claims for life, 95.9% for terminal illness, and 92.56% for critical illness. Over the last five years, the company has paid out £2.6bn in claims for life, critical and terminal illness.

Legal & General paid out £316.5m in life claims in 2016, with 98.6% of all claims paid. The largest claim paid was £1.1m and the average age of claimants was 64 years old.

Last year Legal & General also paid 92.56% of critical illness claims at a total of £181m. The largest claim was £804,342, whilst the average age of claimants was just 47.

The insurer paid out 95.9% of terminal illness claims in 2016, to a total of £107m. The average age of claimants was 54 and the largest claim was worth £1.1m.

A total of £1.8m was paid out for children’s critical illness in 2016, representing 94.2% of claims, with the largest claim paid being £25,600. Sadly, the average age of claimants was just 7 years old and the youngest child was just one month old.

Legal & General paid 94.4% of all income protection claims in 2016, to a total of £1.2m. The average age of claimants was 41 years old.

Mark Holweger, managing director of Legal & General Insurance (Partnerships), said: “Managing a critical or terminal illness, or overcoming the death of a loved one, can be an extremely challenging time, and it’s not the time to have additional worries over you or your family’s financial situation. At Legal & General we’re committed to providing the financial security people need when they are at their most vulnerable, and we’re pleased to have supported our customers and their families by paying out £606 million in individual protection claims.

“Our figures show that protection continues to play a vital role in supporting thousands of people in their time of need every year, giving them added peace of mind about their finances when they need it most. Yet still, the UK continues to suffer from a protection gap which leaves many people’s lifestyles at risk should they sadly be diagnosed with a critical illness or unable to work due to long term illness. We hope that advisers are able to make positive use of these statistics to further address this gap, and show consumers how important protection can be during an extremely challenging time in their lives.”