Zurich has revealed it paid out a total of £32.7 million in critical illness (CI) claims during the fist half of the year.

This totalled 91% of all claims.

The number of critical illness claims paid out over the period was 411 and the largest single claim paid out was for £1.05 million.

1.5% of claims were declined during the period for non-disclosure. The remaining 7.5% of declined claims were due to the definition of the condition not being met.

Cancer was the most common reason for payments at 60%. This was followed by heart attack accounting for 13% and stroke for 7% of successful claims. Benign brain tumour and multiple sclerosis each accounted for a further 5% of payments.

“Each claim paid will make a major difference to the lives of our policyholders and their families, and the figures reinforce the fact that the vast majority of critical illness claims are paid swiftly, providing much needed support when it’s needed most,” said Peter Hamilton, Zurich’s head of protection proposition.

“In the small proportion of cases where claims can’t be paid, it’s largely because the condition suffered does not meet the terms of the policy. As a nation, we remain hugely under insured; cover such as this is an essential element of sound financial planning.

“It is also encouraging to see claims declined due to non-disclosure rates remaining low. Investment by the industry into initiatives to help improve understanding of the issues seem to be paying off.”