Paying out when you need it
Reducing some of the financial pressure from your family, should the worst happen.
Key points:
- Protection insurance is designed to provide financial support when you or your family need it most
- Protection insurance can help support both future financial security and day‑to‑day wellbeing
- Claims are assessed against clear policy definitions, so it’s important to understand what your cover includes
In 2025, we paid out over £1.3bn in protection claims to help our customers and their families. Footnote [1]
If you have any kind of protection cover, like life insurance, critical illness or income protection, you want to be confident it will pay out when you need it to. That, if the worst should happen, at the very least you and your loved ones won’t lose sleep over paying the bills. That’s what we’re here for.
There when you need us
We exist to be there for you when it matters. And paying claims is a vital part of that. Whether it’s a shoulder to lean on or a strong hand to hold, we’re here for you when you need us most.
Which is why in 2025 we paid out the equivalent of £3.6m Footnote [1] every day, paying out in total over £1bn to customers for the fifth consecutive year.
It takes someone you can truly rely on to reassure you for what lies ahead. Someone you can trust to be there. It takes Aviva.
2-minute watch: TV presenter Simon Thomas, shares how straightforward it was to manage the life insurance after the sudden death of his wife, Gemma, in 2017 – and the difference it made for him and his son.
Simon Thomas' Story
Transcript for video Simon Thomas' Story
[On screen text:]
Were we both covered, or was it just me?
So the answer was she is and she was.
[Simon:]
Were we both covered or was it just me?
So the answer was she is and she was.
[On screen text]
Simon’s Aviva Life Insurance Story
Claim Paid: November 2017
[Aviva logo]
[Simon:]
It was the Sunday night, the third night after she'd gone.
These questions that had begun on that Saturday morning were now at kind of fever pitch.
But the biggest one was the financial one.
When I get to that Sunday night, I knew I was insured.
I had this worry that maybe I'd been that guy who'd said "no, no, no, just insure me".
There's all that guilt as well running through me that "what are you doing? This is 3 nights later - this doesn't matter."
Well, actually it did because I knew if I could find the answer one thing is dealt with, and then I could worry about the myriad of other things.
I can't remember what time I emailed to you, Roy, but it was very, very early and it was just very simply, "Please just tell me: were we both covered, or was it just me?"
And I remember you getting back to me early that morning, which lifted one of the many weights off the shoulders.
And the answer was: she is and she was.
And you gave me the figure for what the payout would be.
[Roy:]
Can you remember how quickly we were able to sort this out, with no hassle to yourself, and how important that was in dealing with an insurance company?
[Simon:]
In amongst an episode where you feel imprisoned by kind of pain, that actually gave you a sense of financial freedom. That OK, that opens the horizon in terms of the decisions I can make in terms of what happens to Ethan [subtitles include (Simon’s son)] and how I manage him going forward.
And the speed at which they, you know, processed everything was amazing.
And that does make a big difference because the fact that the process was smooth.
There wasn't a need for me to answer a load of questions.
There wasn’t a need for me to provide endless proof.
Obviously you're going to have to provide a death certificate at some point, but the smoother the process can be, the last thing a grieving person needs when they've got a myriad of other things to think about, worry about, is a laborious process.
[On screen text:]
[Aviva logo]
We’ve got you covered*
*T&Cs Apply
This is a personal testimonial and should not be taken as financial advice or used to inform financial decision-making.
Life cover claims
In 2025, we:
- Paid 99.1% of claims Footnote [1]
- Paid out in claims more than £712 million Footnote [1]
- Settled 39,233 claims Footnote [1]
Figures represent the combination of Life Insurance and Over 50s Life Insurance claims. Footnote [1]
Our term life insurance helps make sure your loved ones are looked after when you're gone. It provides financial support if, during the policy term, you die or are diagnosed with a terminal illness that meets our policy definition and are expected to live less than 12 months.
It lets you leave money to help your loved ones carry on after you're gone, whether it helps them live life to the fullest or possibly say goodbye to a big expense like a mortgage.
With the various types of cover around, it’s important to understand the difference between them. Term life insurance protects you for a set period of time (your policy term), while over 50s is a type of 'whole of life' insurance that lasts for the rest of your life.
With both types of policy, the plan ends in the event of a successful claim. And if you stop paying your premiums or cancel the policy, your cover ends and you don't get anything back.
Critical illness
In 2025 we:
- Paid out more than £388 million worth of critical illness claims Footnote [1]
- Supported people with an average payout per claim of £69,559 Footnote [1]
- Found that over 54.8% of claims were for cancer Footnote [1]
Figures include total permanent disability and children's benefit.
Our critical illness cover is there to support you when you're seriously ill. It pays out a lump sum if, during the policy term, you're diagnosed with or undergo surgery for a critical illness that meets our policy definition and then survive for at least 10 days.
We only cover the critical illnesses we define in our policy and no others. The policy doesn't pay out on death and cover will stop if a successful claim is made. If you stop paying your premiums or cancel the policy, your cover ends and you won't get anything back.
That lump sum can help you support yourself as well as any family members throughout your illness and recovery. You can spend the money on whatever you like, such as paying the bills each month or helping you feel like you again, while you get better.
In 2025 the three big causes we paid out for were cancer, heart attack and stroke. Cancer claims accounted for more than half of all the critical illness claims we paid. Footnote [1]
Giving you more for your children
If you take out critical illness cover with us, children's benefit is automatically included at no extra cost.
In 2025, we paid £347,400 in children's hospital benefit. We also paid over £6.8 million in children's benefit claims, helping families with an average lump sum payment of £21,255. Footnote [1]
Income protection insurance
In 2025:
- We paid out over £63 million Footnote [1]
- We settled 4,154 claims Footnote [1]
- 27.1% of claims were related to musculoskeletal conditions Footnote [1]
- 26.8% of claims were for mental healthFootnote [1]
When you’re ill or injured and can’t work, our income protection insurance is there to support you. During the policy term, it pays a proportion of your lost earnings, so you can concentrate on looking after yourself.
It will only pay out on a successful claim. And if you stop paying premiums or cancel the policy, your plan ends and you won't get anything back.
More than just numbers
When life gets bumpy, sometimes you need someone in your corner who can help. Which is why our claims team will be by your side every step of the way.
And, for us, it’s more than just the numbers. It’s about helping you navigate a tough situation with compassion and empathy.
Project Teddy
Launched in 2019, Project Teddy gives critical illness customers claiming children’s benefit a little extra boost that goes beyond paying out on claims.
Our team takes the time to get to know each family and personally choose a gift to send to each member. It might be a restaurant voucher to help mum and dad take a well-deserved break, a specialist sensory gift for a poorly child, or a soft toy for a brother or sister needing a comforting cuddle.
In 2025, we sent over 250 Project Teddy gifts to children to help them and their families get through a tough time.
Macmillan Cancer Support
We’re working in partnership with Macmillan Cancer Support to help people living with cancer find the expert support they need.
By working with Macmillan Clinical Nurse Specialists, we can help to speed up individual protection claim payments for some critical illness customers who have a cancer diagnosis. This helps reduce the time you have to wait for us to settle your claims.
In 2025, hundreds of customers had their critical illness claim supported by their Cancer Nurse Specialist. Speeding things up means we're able to help more customers and their families get vital clinical, emotional, and financial security quickly, when they need it most.
When we can’t pay out
In some cases, we can’t pay out on a claim. There are three main reasons why:
Misrepresentation: It’s important that any information you give us when applying for cover is correct and nothing is missing. If there’s something you haven’t told us, for example about your health and lifestyle, this could stop us from being able to pay out if you make a claim.
Definition not met: This is when the claim is for an illness that either isn't named in the cover, or hasn't reached a severe enough point to meet the policy criteria.
Other: Sometimes our policies have conditions that the claim doesn’t meet. For example, a life insurance policy must be in force for 12 months before we can accept a death claim for suicide or intentional self-inflicted injury.
However, in 2025, we declined 8.7% of critical illness , child's benefit and total permanent disability claims, 10% of income protection claims and 1.3% for life insurance, whole of life insurance, over 50s and terminal illness claims.Footnote [1]
Related articles
