Zurich paid out 89% of critical illness claims during the first six months of 2011.

Payments amounted to £43.7 million, up on the same period last year.

The number of critical illness claims paid out in January-June 2011 was 515, compared with 787 in total for the full year to December 2010.

Of claims declined during this period, 9.6% were due to the definition of the condition not being met.

And 1% – 6 claims – were turned down as a result of non disclosure.

Phil Brown, head of protection and underwriting for Zurich UK Life, said: “The good news is that we have paid out more claims in the year to June 2011 than in the same period last year