Life insurance claims hit highest level for BoI

BANK of Ireland customers received more than €145m in life, serious illness and general insurance claims in 2019, with the amount of life insurance claims representing its highest ever level.

The total across all the claims was up 5pc on 2018. Over the past five years, Bank of Ireland has paid out almost €624m in total.

The results showed that there were life cover payments of more than €81m and specified illness claims of over €28m from Bank of Ireland Life. A total of €16.8m was paid out in general insurance claims covering both home insurance and motor cover.

In the 2019 results, the average claim by individuals on their life cover policy was €53,203 in 2019.

The three conditions most prevalent for life cover claims by individuals were cancer (34pc), heart (19pc) and respiratory (10pc).

The average claim for specified illness in 2019 was €72,644. Cancer claims were the highest.

In terms of general insurance, the most commonly occurring claims were for water damage, storm losses and burglary or theft.

When it came to motor cover in 2019, collisions with third parties were the most frequent reasons for claims, followed by windscreen breakages and single vehicle accidents.