Legal & General paid out £731m across its Life, Critical Illness Cover, Terminal Illness Cover and Income Protection insurance products in 2019.

More than 15,000 UK customers and their families benefitted from individual cover as Legal & General paid out the equivalent of just over £2m every day.

The figures raise the total amount Legal & General has paid in individual protection claims over the last five years to nearly £3 billion.

The insurer paid out over £392.4m for life claims in 2019 across 10,721 claims, the equivalent of 29 a day and representing 97% of all life claims. The three main conditions were cancer (37%), heart related diseases (18%) and respiratory illnesses (5%), with an average customer payout of £36,608.

The equivalent of nine claims a day, 92% of Critical Illness claims (CIC), were paid out in 2019 by Legal & General. The insurer paid a total of £224m across 3,351 CIC claims. The most common conditions were cancer (66%), heart attacks (12%) and stroke (6%), with an average payout of £66,857.

For Children’s Critical Illness (CCIC), Legal & General paid out more than £2.1m to 140 customers, representing 96% of all CCIC claims. The average payout was £15,182. Cancer was the cause behind the highest proportion (63%) of claims, followed by child funeral benefit (14%), blindness (2%) and strokes (2%).

Legal & General paid out £111.8m across 1,066 Terminal Illness (TIC) claims in 2019, representing 95% of all TIC claims. The majority were caused by a cancer diagnosis (94%) and the average customer payout was £104,911.

The insurer paid out 93% of all Income Protection claims (IP) supporting 483 people. Musculoskeletal disorders (33%) were the leading cause for an IP claim, followed by cancer (17%) and mental health (12%).

David Banks, director of claims and underwriting at Legal & General Insurance, said: “Our purpose as a business is to support our customers at some of the most challenging times in their lives. An unexpected change in circumstances such as a critical illness diagnosis or the loss of a loved one can have a devastating impact on a family. For those facing a life-changing condition or grieving over the death of a family member, the importance of financial security cannot be overstated.

“We take incredibly seriously the responsibility of financially supporting our customers at their most vulnerable. Last year we supported over 15,000 people through paying their claim. But behind our claims statistics are real people: families who have lost a parent, renters who are unable to work due to illness or injury, individuals who have been diagnosed with life changing critical illnesses.

“We will continue to place our entire focus on providing this vital financial security for our existing and new customers alike.”