New figures have revealed that protection specialist LV= paid record individual protection claims totalling £97.9m during 2018 – up £10m up from 2017.

Through the course of the year LV= says it supported more than 7,400 new and existing claimants.
 
Payouts to new and existing income protection (IP) claimants totalled over £14m, with musculoskeletal problems (33%), cancer (23%) and mental health (20%) the most common conditions for new claims.

During the year LV= paid out nearly £5m to support new and existing claimants with mental health issues.
 
Through a new partnership with Innovate – a leading early intervention specialist – LV= offered individual rehabilitation, emotional and back-to-work support to over 100 IP claimants in the second half of 2018.
 

Overall, LV= settled 94% of all individual protection claims across its life, critical illness, terminal illness, income protection and unemployment policies.

Chris McNab, protection proposition director at LV=, said: “Last year, LV= paid out more than ever for individual protection claims.

“These numbers prove that protection and features such as fracture cover can play a vital role in helping people when they need it the most.
 
“We believe that modern insurance should be about more than just the cover provided and money paid out.

“Our partnership with Innovate allows us to provide meaningful, practical and emotional support for claimants and their dependants – providing tailored rehabilitation, helping people back to work and sometimes even helping them to launch a completely new career.
 
“Our tele-claims service has transformed our claimants’ experience for the better.

“Customers can speak directly to our trained claims team, helping us to understand and respond to their situation immediately, at what often can be an emotional and vulnerable time.

“For income protection claimants, this allows us to quickly decide on the best types of support and get them on to the road to recovery more quickly.”