HSBC Life UK Paid Out £93 Million In Claims During 2024
Cancer largest source of critical illness claims
HSBC Life (UK) Limited (“HSBC Life (UK)”) paid out £93 million in life insurance and critical illness claims during 2024 with paid rates at 97.53% for life insurance and 94.44% for critical illness. The average time to settle life claims was well below the industry average at 19 days with 67% of claimants receiving a decision on day one whilst for critical illness claims the turnaround time was 41 days*.
HSBC Life (UK)’s 2024 data shows cancer accounted for 40% of life insurance claims with heart disease at 12% and respiratory conditions 11%. Cancer was the largest source of critical illness claims at 65% with heart attacks accounting for 12% and strokes for 6%. HSBC Life (UK) paid out £15.5m in critical illness claims related to cancer and 50% of all female cancer claims were breast cancer related. One critical illness customer had their claim agreed and funds paid on the same day.
HSBC Life (UK) is urging advisers to be aware of both the full range of support available and the differences in critical illness policies, including value added services and differences to standard cover definitions among providers, so they can deliver the best possible support for clients. It is estimated that there are currently more than 3 million people living with cancer in the UK, this is predicted to rise to 3.5 million by 2025, 4 million by 2030, and to 5.3 million by 2040. **
Jen Carhart, Head of HSBC Life (UK)’s award winning Claims team***, said: “HSBC Life (UK) takes pride in supporting our policyholders and showing them the real value of protection. We are extremely passionate about supporting our most vulnerable customers during times of need. We are proud to be a member of the Protection Distributors Group (PDG) charter and we are laser focused on providing the highest possible standards of customer service during the claims process.”
Notes to Editors:
Reference:
*Findings of our multi-firm review of life insurers’ bereavement claim process | FCA
**Cancer statistics fact sheet | Macmillan Cancer Support
***In 2024, HSBC Life (UK) won the Outstanding Performance in Claims Handling category at the Protection Guru Awards. Jen Carhart, Head of Claims at HSBC Life (UK) Ltd was awarded Woman of the Year Claims at COVER’s Women in Protection and Health Awards, and she also won the Woman in Protection category at the 2024 Women’s Recognition Awards.
Media enquiries to:
HSBC Life (UK) Limited
Ellis Ford ellis.ford@hsbc.com
Citigate Dewe Rogerson
Seb Zickus +44 (0)20 7025 6494 seb.zickus@citigatedewerogerson.com
About HSBC Life (UK) Limited
HSBC Life (UK) Limited is part of the HSBC Group, one of the world’s largest banking and financial services organisations. HSBC Group serve more than 40 million customers worldwide through a network that covers 64 countries and territories in its geographical regions: Europe, Asia, North America, Latin America, and Middle East and North Africa. We aim to be present where the growth is, enabling businesses to thrive and economies to prosper, and, ultimately, helping people to fulfil their hopes and realise their ambitions. HSBC Life (UK) Limited was founded in the UK in 1988 and offers insurance services to meet protection and investment management needs. Our services and solutions are available through HSBC banking channels and selected third parties, including financial advisers and aggregators. For more information on HSBC Life (UK) Limited range of services go to https://www.life.hsbc.co.uk/ and for more information on HSBC please go to https://www.hsbc.com
About HSBC Life
HSBC Life is the insurance business of the HSBC Group. We manufacture life and health insurance products in Hong Kong, mainland China, Singapore, India*, France, UK, Malta, Mexico, and Argentina. HSBC Life offers a range of insurance products to meet the protection, education, retirement, wealth growth and legacy planning needs of our customers. Our services and products are available through HSBC banking channels, selected third parties, including financial advisers and aggregators. *Through our joint venture, Canara HSBC OBC Life Insurance.
HSBC Holdings plc
HSBC Holdings plc, the parent company of HSBC, is headquartered in London. HSBC serves customers worldwide from offices in 58 countries and territories. With assets of US$3,017bn at 31 December 2024, HSBC is one of the world’s largest banking and financial services organisations.