Research by protection specialists LifeSearch has revealed that insurers are now paying out on over 88% of all Critical Illness claims on average, compared to just 84% when the last set of LifeSearch figures were published in October 2007

There are two reasons a claim can be rejected: firstly, not meeting the definition, which means the condition isn’t covered by the policy or isn’t severe enough. Secondly, non-disclosure, where the insurer rejects the claim because the client withheld crucial information during the application process

Of these two, non-disclosure has proved to be the source of most complaints. The latest figures prove only 2.5% of claims were declined for this reason. That compares to 8% in the last set of research published in 2007

Matt Morris, senior policy adviser at LifeSeach, said: “There are two important reasons for this fall. The first is the work of the ABI and insurers