Amanda, we need total cover

I LISTENED to Amanda Blanc’s Desert Island Discs while out running a few days ago. Blanc, boss of insurer Aviva, is a remarkable individual, having fought off misogyny at various stages in her career.

Although a tad younger than me, her choice of music struck a chord – particularly The Jam’s A Town Called Malice (1982) and Soft

Cell’s Tainted Love (a year earlier) which she said was the one record above all that she would keep. Music very much of my youth.

Early in the programme, Blanc, pictured, was challenged by presenter Lauren Laverne about insurers getting a ‘bad rap’ for not paying claims. Her response was to say Aviva paid between 98 and 99 per cent. A few days ago, after the programme aired, Aviva announced its 2022 claims data for protection insurance. Such cover embraces life insurance, critical illness and income protection.

On average, 98.3 per cent of claims were met, resulting in pay-outs totalling £1billion to more than 50,000 individuals. So Blanc’s boast was valid.

Yet, the claim rates varied according to policy type. The highest (understandably) was on life insurance where 99.4 per cent of claims were met – the 0.6 per cent of rejected ones resulting primarily from policyholders not providing accurate information when they applied.

The lowest was on critical illness cover where the claims success rate was 93.5 per cent. Aviva said this was a result of illness definitions not being met.

‘The world doesn’t work without insurance,’ Blanc told Laverne. Absolutely. But, equally, insurance doesn’t work for customers (or their loved ones) if the cover they have paid a small fortune for over the years fails them in their hour of need.

For example, because their cancer isn’t deemed to be lifethreatening enough. Until we get to 100 per cent, protection insurance will remain a little tainted. Amanda, over to you.