Zurich paid out 92% of critical illness claims in 2011.

Payments totalled £64.5 million.

The number of critical illness claims paid out in the whole of 2011 was 796, compared with 787 in total for the full year to December 2010.

Of claims declined during this period, 6.8% were due to the definition of the condition not being met.

Only 1.2% (eight claims) were turned down as a result of non disclosure.

The largest single claim paid out was for £1.1million. Of the top four conditions covered, 58% of payments were made for cases of cancer, up from 50% in 2010 and 48% in 2009. The next three conditions for which claims were paid out were heart attack (9.1%), down from 11.9% in 2010 and 12.9% in 2009, stroke (5.9%) and multiple sclerosis (3.8%).

Phil Brown, head of protection and underwriting for Zurich UK Life, said: “It is very positive is that we continue to pay out on a significant level of valid claims