FCA data reveals the frequency, acceptance, and average pay-out for home insurance claims
FCA data has revealed Ageas to be one of the worst performers of the major insurers on paying claims.
Value measures data reported to the FCA shows Ageas ranks in the bottom two for claims acceptance in three of the four recorded products – home (82.5-84.9%), home emergency (80-82.7%), and personal accident (90-94.9%). In the fourth product measure of key cover it ranked third out of five firms with 85-89.9% of claims paid.
Ageas’ claims acceptance for home was down from 87.5-89.9% in 2017, while home emergency fell from 90-92.4% last year. Claims acceptance for personal accident improved from 85-89.9%, and the key cover acceptance rate remained the same.
The data covers 31 major UK general insurers for the year ending 31 August 2018, with RSA topping the home, and home emergency tables for claims acceptance (both 97.5-100%).
A spokesperson for RSA said: ”Insurance is there to help people get back on their feet when things don’t go as planned. Wherever we can, we’re committed to settling claims as swiftly and easily as possible.”
In home, data from 29 insurers was recorded, with Brit Syndicates accepting the lowest percentage of claims (80-82.4%).
Overall, 90.02% of home claims were accepted, compared to 93.47% for 2017. Claims frequencies fell from 5.3% to 5.0% and the average pay-out increased from £3,400 to £3,500.
Hiscox experienced the largest average claim pay-out in home at £8000-£8,499, compared to Brit and Tesco Underwriting, which jointly had the smallest average pay-out of £1,500-£1,999. The Hiscox data primarily relates to high-net worth business.
Home insurance claims data for selected insurers
| Claims frequency | Claims acceptance rate | Average claims pay-out | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Firm | 2017 | 2018 | 2017 | 2018 | 2017 | 2018 |
| Admiral Insurance (Gibraltar) Limited | 2.5% to 4.9% | 2.5% to 4.9% | 90% to 92.4% | 90% to 92.4% | £2,500 to £2,999 | £2,500 to £2,999 |
| Ageas Insurance Limited | 5% to 7.4% | 2.5% to 4.9% | 87.5% to 89.9% | 82.5% to 84.9% | £3,000 to £3,499 | £3,500 to £3,999 |
| Allianz Insurance plc | 5% to 7.4% | 5% to 7.4% | 90% to 92.4% | 92.5% to 94.9% | £3,500 to £3,999 | £3,500 to £3,999 |
| Aviva Insurance Limited | 2.5% to 4.9% | 2.5% to 4.9% | 95% to 97.4% | 95% to 97.4% | £4,000 to £4,499 | £3,500 to £3,999 |
| AXA Insurance UK Plc | 2.5% to 4.9% | 2.5% to 4.9% | 90% to 92.4% | 90% to 92.4% | £3,500 to £3,999 | £3,500 to £3,999 |
| Covéa Insurance plc | 2.5% to 4.9% | 2.5% to 4.9% | 90% to 92.4% | 90% to 92.4% | £3,500 to £3,999 | £3,500 to £3,999 |
| Ecclesiastical Insurance Office Plc | 7.5% to 9.9% | 10% to 12.4% | 90% to 92.4% | 92.5% to 94.9% | £6,000 to £6,499 | £7,500 to £7,999 |
| esure Insurance Limited | 2.5% to 4.9% | 2.5% to 4.9% | 92.5% to 94.9% | 92.5% to 94.9% | £3,000 to £3,499 | £3,500 to £3,999 |
| Hiscox Insurance Company Limited | 5% to 7.4% | 5% to 7.4% | 97.5 to 100% | 95% to 97.4% | £8,000 to £8,499 | £8,000 to £8,499 |
| Legal and General Insurance Limited | 2.5% to 4.9% | 2.5% to 4.9% | 85% to 87.4% | 90% to 92.4% | £2,000 to £2,499 | £2,000 to £2,499 |
| Liverpool Victoria Insurance Company Limited | 5% to 7.4% | 2.5% to 4.9% | 92.5% to 94.9% | 92.5% to 94.9% | £4,000 to £4,499 | £4,000 to £4,499 |
| Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Plc | 2.5% to 4.9% | 5% to 7.4% | 97.5% to 100% | 97.5% to 100% | £1,000 to £1,499 | £3,000 to £3,499 |
| UK Insurance Ltd (Direct Line) | 7.5% to 9.9% | 5% to 7.4% | 92.5% to 94.9% | 92.5% to 94.9% | £2,500 to £2,999 | £2,500 to £2,999 |
| Zurich Insurance PLC | 2.5% to 4.9% | 5% to 7.4% | 95% to 97.4% | 97.5 to 100% | £3,500 to £3,999 | £4,000 to £4,499 |
As well as RSA, Liberty, Zurich and the National Farmers’ Union Mutual all also accepted at least 97.5% of claims.
Of the major general insurers, Aviva and Hiscox both accepted 95-97.4% of home claims, while Allianz, LV=, Direct Line, Ecclesiastical and esure were in the next band down at 92.5%-94.9%.
Admiral, AXA, Covéa and Legal & General accepted 90-92.4% of home claims.
For home emergency, there was data for only 12 insurers – with figures recorded for whether the product was sold as an add-on or as a standalone policy.
The Great Lakes add-on product saw the lowest claims acceptance rate, at just 62.5-64.9%.
Both the add-on and standalone policies of RSA and Direct Line, along with Aviva and Amtrust’s standalone alone policies had 97.5-100% of claims accepted.
The data for personal accident covered 11 insurers. Here, Amtrust had the lowest rate of claims acceptance, at just 80-84.9%.
In personal accident, eight of the 11 insurers ranked tied for top spot, with Admiral, Aviva, Canopius, esure, Great Lakes, LV=, Tesco Underwriting, and the National Farmers’ Union Mutual all accepting 95-100% of claims.
In key cover, contracts sold as an add-on to motor protecting lost, stolen or broken keys, Great Lakes accepted only 40-44.9% of claims. This was less than half of the top performer Amtrust, which accepted 95-100% of claims.
The data was generated by the FCA as part of a pilot, which saw the regulator take value measures data from 31 insurers. The FCA is currently consulting on extending this to include all general insurance firms and cover most general insurance products.
No comments yet