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Bupa Individual Protection releases latest critical illness claims figures

The average critical illness claim paid by Bupa Individual Protection during 2008 was Ł93,000 according to the latest figures released today.

Cancer continues to top the list, accounting for nearly three-quarters of claims by women and half of claims by men. Indeed, this mirrors the findings of Bupa’s most recent Health of the Nation survey in which cancer remains the nation’s biggest health concern. Other common claims were for heart attacks, strokes and multiple sclerosis.

The latest statistics also highlight the importance of cover for children, one of the built-in critical illness benefits available from Bupa at no additional cost. Last year, Bupa saw three percent of claims for children for conditions such as heart valve replacement and leukaemia.

The average period between taking out a Bupa policy and a claim being made is 31 months. Of those critical illness claims received by the company in 2008, less than two percent were declined due to non-disclosure while 12 percent were declined for not meeting the accepted definition.

Steve Casey, product and marketing manager at Bupa Individual Protection, said: these figures not only highlight the comprehensive nature of our proposition but also the importance of our built-in free child cover benefit. Knowing that your critical illness policy will pay out if your child falls ill, is a huge reassurance to people and shows the depth and extent of the coverage of our critical illness policy.

Bupa was the first company to introduce reduced premiums for excluded conditions. Our range of critical illness and income protection products have recently achieved five star ratings following a recent re-accreditation from Defaqto, a leading independent research company which rates products across the whole market.

For PDF of latest critical illness claims figures please click here: www.bupa.co.uk/bupaindividualprotection

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