The Exeter made 1,318 decisions on new income protection claims during 2021, lower than the 1,917 made in 2020, and paid 93% of all new claims. The reduction in claims volumes was largely driven by a drop in COVID-19 related claims, which more than halved in 2021 and accounted for 21% of all claims.
The most common reason for claim was musculoskeletal conditions (38%), while hip or knee conditions accounted for 9% of claims and mental health for 7%.
The average age of claimants on The Exeter’s newer policies was just 37 years old, highlighting the importance of younger clients protecting themselves against the financial impact of illness or injury.
Chris Pollard, COO at The Exeter, comments: “Providing real and tangible claims support to our members throughout the continued challenges presented by 2021 has been a driving force for The Exeter. We are proud of the support we provide to our members whether in the speed of handling new claims, the dependable service for our long term claimants, as well as the support and services we provide to help speed up our members’ recovery and return to work.
Musculoskeletal claims remain the most common reason for workplace absence, often arising from sporting injuries and accidents often needing several weeks to make a full recovery and return to work. There has been a welcome reduction in claims due to COVID-19 as we emerge from the pandemic.
Most of our members continue to elect to use our digital claim service, with almost 40% responding within 48 hours. We continue to signpost our members to the valuable support services provided by our HealthWise app, which experienced a 48% increase in usage from income protection members last year.”
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