New research conducted with Reassured critical illness claimants reveals that nearly all believe their pay out made a difference to the lives. More than four out of five say it helped them through a challenging time with their health and almost three quarters say they would have been significantly worse off without the money from their claim. Several respondents stated it was the only thing that prevented them from falling into severe financial hardship.
Almost half of respondents (49%) say their CI payout gave them vital financial security during a challenging time when they were worrying about their health and just over a third (34%) said it made their lives easier. Only 3% said it made little or no difference.
Claimants used their payouts for a wide variety of expenses. Most, 47%, say they used it to support their day to day living costs. 24% say they used the money to pay off debts and 21% for medical or care related costs. Other uses included supporting family or dependents, paying off their mortgage or taking a trip of a lifetime.
According to figures from Reassured’s core insurer panel £73,140,084 was paid out in life and critical illness claims across 3,474 claims by the broker in 2025. These figures mean payouts have increased by almost 49% over the last two years, with the number of successful claims more than tripling since 2023. The latest figures continue a trend of rising claims payouts through Reassured’s insurer panel, following a 34% increase reported in 2024.
Mark Townsend, CEO at Reassured, said: “Every claim paid represents a person or family going through an incredibly difficult period in their lives. While the numbers demonstrate the scale of support protection policies can provide, behind every payout is a real story. Our research goes deeper to understand these stories better and what this money really means to claimants and their families.
“Nearly half of the critical illness claimants we surveyed used their payout simply to meet everyday living costs. That demonstrates how quickly serious illness can become a financial as well as a health crisis.
“The findings demonstrate how important critical illness cover can be in preventing a health crisis from becoming a much wider financial crisis. For insurers and brokers, the challenge is to make that value tangible before somebody becomes ill, not afterwards.”
