Zurich paid over 91% of its critical illness claims in 2014, benefitting 750 customers with payments amounting to over £63.1 million.

This forms a total of over £191 million paid out on retail protection related claims including those for income protection and life policies.

Over half of claims were settled within 21 days with the fastest taking two days to process. Claims turnaround times have been reduced by a quarter since the insurer introduced 22 new initiatives to speed up claims for customers.

The average pay out for a critical illness claim over the period was £83,144 and the largest amounted to £1 million. 20 claims were also paid out in respect of children’s illnesses, with average pay-outs here of £19,785.

Cancer was again the most common reason for claims, accounting for 62%, followed by heart attack 12%, stroke 7% and multiple sclerosis 3%.

Where it was not possible to accept the claim, in 8% of cases the definition of the illness was not met, while 1% were declined because of non-disclosure of medical information.

“We have been reporting our critical illness statistics for over five years and are pleased to see payment rates consistently in excess of 90%,” said Peter Hamilton, head of retail propositions at Zurich. “It’s important that we continue to challenge the misplaced perception amongst many that claims don’t get paid.

“Collectively, insurers will continue to be judged on claims paid, both the decision on the claim but also the experience. This is why we have invested in our claims systems and we will continue to look for ways to speed up the process of paying claims in any way we can. We know what a difference these payments make to our customers and ensuring they get the support they need as soon as possible is crucial.”