Protection provider Zurich paid 91% of critical illness (CI) claims in the first half of the year.
In total, it paid out over £33.1m to CI claimants with an average lump sum payment of over £76,000.
The highest claim paid was for £583,000.
Cancer remained the most common reason for claims, accounting for 64%, followed by heart attack (12%), stroke (7%) and multiple sclerosis (3%).
Breast cancer alone accounted for 24% of claims, while prostate and bowel cancer together triggered 12% of claims.
The average age of claimants was 47 years for women and 51 years for men.
Of the 9% of CI claims not paid, 2% were because of non-disclosure of important medical information and 7% were where illnesses did not meet the definition on their policies.
Zurich’s claims statistics also reveal it paid 95% of new income protection (IP) claims during the first half, with benefits to all customers amounting to over £4.3m. The average monthly benefit payment was £1,475.00.
Mental illness including anxiety, stress and depression accounted for nearly half of all new claims (43%), followed by cancer (20%), chronic fatigue syndrome (9%) and musculoskeletal conditions (6%).
During the same period last year, a quarter of IP claims (25%) were for mental illness and musculoskeletal disorders. This was followed by cancer at 17% and back problems at 11%.
On the life insurance side, 99% of claims were paid with payments to beneficiaries totalling £79.4m. Average payments issued were for £40,000, with the highest pay out being £1.2m.
Overall, the figures mean Zurich paid 97% of all protection claims in the first half of 2018.
Peter Hamilton, Zurich’s head of market management, said customers should check their policies to make sure they are benefitting from all of the support services available.
“This includes advance payments on life policies to help people following the loss of loved ones, right through to Zurich’s Support Service offering customers access to advice on everything from sourcing elder care through to managing debt plus access to professional counselling sessions,” he added.