LV= have paid out over £19m in COVID claims

Recent data from LV= has revealed that the life insurance provider paid out more than £19 million in COVID-related claims since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

The first ever claim pandemic-related claim that LV= paid out was back on 16 March 2020, just a week before the first nationwide lockdown was announced in the UK. Since then, almost 2,000 claims related to COVID have been paid out by the insurer, up to 15 March 2022, totalling almost £19 million.

The vast majority of these payouts were for death claims - around 1,400 of them, which cost LV= a total of £18 million. While the average age of people claiming for a COVID death was 64 years old, the youngest claimant was just 32.

As well as death claims, the life insurance provider has also paid out over £427,000 for 550 claims on personal sick pay and income protection policies. Many of these claims were made because the policyholder was off sick or isolating with the virus itself, while others have received extended support while suffering with long COVID.

The most common type of people, based on their occupation, that claimed on personal sick pay and income protection policies included frontline workers such as nurses, care assistants, and warehouse and factory workers.

“As we pass the second anniversary of the initial COVID-19 lockdown (23 March 2020), our claims experience demonstrates the far reaching impact the pandemic has had on our policyholders and families across the UK,” said Anna Rogers, Head of Underwriting and Claims at LV=.

“Not only have people been affected directly by the virus, millions are still dealing with the impact of lockdowns, such as coping with isolation and financial worries.

“At LV=, we strongly believe that contemporary protection insurance is not only about paying claims; it’s about supporting customers from day one, when they are at their most vulnerable and providing emotional and practical support when they need it.”

The majority of LV=’s payouts were made in 2021, with around £11.3 million paid to policyholders making a COVID-related claim in that year alone. This also included £130,000 paid on personal sick pay policies, £84,000 on critical illness payments, and £64,000 for income protection policyholders.

With total life insurance payouts at almost £74 million in 2021, COVID-related claims made up around 16% of all payouts made by LV=. This was only topped by cancer-related claims at 39%, and just slightly above heart-related claims at 15%.

In total, 96% of claims were paid out by LV= in 2021, with the small proportion of rejected claims being attributed to things like failure to disclose pre-existing conditions, and fraud.

As well as paying out millions in life insurance claims, LV= has also supported people throughout the coronavirus pandemic by offering a payment break option. This was open to all members who were experiencing financial hardship, and allowed them to take a break from paying their premiums for up to 3 months, with no requirement for these missed payments to be paid back.

Furthermore, LV= became the first major insurance company in the UK to remove all underwriting restrictions related to the pandemic for income protections insurance applications in April 2021. LV= says that it will offer life insurance to anyone regardless of their vaccination status.

Sources