Aviva paid nearly £2 billion in protection claims in 2025

Aviva paid out £1.99 billion across 61,632 individual and group protection claims last year, providing vital financial support to tens of thousands of UK households experiencing serious illness or bereavement.

The annual claims data is released ahead of Aviva’s launch of its Individual Protection and Group Protection Claims and Wellbeing Reports, which will be supported by adviser events from April through to June.

The reports provide detailed insight into the claims numbers and also highlight the growing role of Aviva’s wider wellbeing, rehabilitation and support services.

More than 172,800 customers registered for the Aviva DigiCare+ and Aviva DigiCare+ Workplace apps last year, taking total registrations since 2020 to over 670,000. The Digital GP and mental health consultation services in particular saw increases in usage, as families sought fast, convenient access to medical advice, often with appointments being available within three hours.

And as the government’s Keep Britain Working review puts a spotlight on the rising impact of ill-health on the UK’s workforce, demand for early intervention and rehabilitation services also continued to rise. In 2025, Aviva supported 3,399 income protection customers, including 2,656 employees covered under group income protection, who were supported to stay in or return to work.

Fran Bruce, Managing Director of Protection at Aviva, said: “Paying nearly £2 billion in claims to help more than 61,000 customers and their families is a powerful demonstration of the scale and impact of the financial safety net that we provide when customers need it most.

“But as sickness absence rises and demand for wellbeing and rehabilitation services continues to grow, the holistic support we offer is becoming just as critical. Helping people stay healthy, recover well, feel supported and remain financially resilient is fundamental to our approach. That’s why we enhanced our specialist wellbeing services earlier this year and we continue to see strong engagement, particularly with Digital GP.

“Looking ahead, data and technology are reshaping how we assess, understand and respond to customers’ evolving needs. Our industry-first Generative AI medical summarisation tool is helping more customers get protection in place quickly, while our advanced analytics are helping us better understand claims patterns and predict where support may be needed.”

Individual Protection claims

Aviva paid more than 51,000 individual protection claims last year, with total payouts exceeding £1.3 billion, in line with 2024 levels. Overall, 96.9% of all claims received were accepted.

Life Insurance, including Over 50s Plans and advanced payments for Terminal Illness, accounted for the majority of claims. More than £860 million was paid out across 40,000 claims, with an acceptance rate of 98.7%. Of the small proportion of claims declined, the leading cause remained misrepresentation of relevant information, in particular health and lifestyle information, highlighting the continued need to raise awareness of accurate disclosure during the application process.

More than £388 million was paid across 5,500 Critical Illness, Children’s Benefit and Total and Permanent Disability claims. Aviva paid 90.7% of claims received in this category. Where claims could not be paid, the majority were due to the customer’s diagnosis not meeting the policy definition for their condition.

On Income Protection, Aviva paid out just over £63.5 million in benefits to around 4,100 new and existing claimants. The overall acceptance rate was 90%. Of those declined, around three-fifths were due to misrepresentation of relevant information during application.  Musculoskeletal conditions was the most common cause of claim, followed by mental health conditions and cancer.

Group Protection

Aviva recorded an increase in both the number and total value of Group Protection claims paid in 2025 compared with the previous year.

Across all Group Protection products, just over 10,400 claims were settled, up from 9,300 in 2024. The total value of claims paid rose to more than £677 million, compared with £559 million the year before. All product lines saw an uplift in claim volumes.

Around 6,500 Group Income Protection claims were paid, providing more than £146 million in benefits. The average annual payout was £22,464. Cancer remained the most common reason for claim, accounting for 26% of cases, followed by mental health conditions at 18%.

Aviva also supported more employees with early intervention and rehabilitation services than the previous year, with 2,656 people given support across 350 UK employers. 85% of employees who were case managed successfully returned to or remained in work.

Group Life claims also increased, with around 3,130 claims paid, compared with 2,810 the previous year. Beneficiaries received more than £474 million, with an average payout of £150,700. The average speed of payment was under three days.

Around 760 Group Critical Illness claims were also paid, an increase from 689 in the previous year, with total payouts exceeding £57 million.