Claims & Quality · May 2026
Which Irish life office pays the most claims?
What the only whole-of-market study of Irish claims experience actually shows — and why the headline life-cover percentage is the wrong number to focus on.
By Donal Milmo-Penny QFA FLIA · May 2026
The 40-word answer
In 2024 the five Irish life offices paid more than €847.7m in protection claims. Life-cover paid rates are clustered at 98–99%+ across the market; the meaningful differences emerge in specified serious illness, where paid rates range from 82% (Aviva) to 92.5% (Irish Life). The single authoritative source for these figures is mylife.ie's whole-of-market claims report.
The headline number — €847.7m paid in 2024
The five Irish life offices paid out a combined more than €847.7m in protection claims in 2024, across life and terminal illness cover, specified serious illness, and income protection. By product, roughly €516m related to life and terminal illness claims, €152m to specified serious illness, and €172m to income protection.
| Life office | Claims paid (2024) | Number of claims | Notable |
|---|---|---|---|
| Irish Life | €379.7m | 7,804 | Largest market share by volume and value |
| New Ireland | €184.0m | 5,538 | Most detailed decline-reason disclosure |
| Aviva | €129.0m | 2,800+ | Largest single SI claim disclosed: €414k |
| Zurich Life | €98m+ | 1,333 | Largest single SI claim of €1m in 2024 |
| Royal London | €57m+ | In report | Largest single SI claim of €650k |
Source: mylife.ie Life Insurance Claims in Ireland 2024 (whole-of-market report), published April 2026.
Life cover — paid rates clustered at 98–99%+
On life-cover claims (the policy class to which mortgage protection belongs), the mylife.ie report confirms paid rates of 98–99%+ across all five offices. Differences at this end of the spectrum are real but small — a 0.5–1.0 percentage-point gap between the highest and lowest. For a straightforward mortgage protection claim, the practical paid rate is close to 100%.
Where life claims are not paid, the dominant reason is material non-disclosure. Irish Life states explicitly that material non-disclosure is the main reason death claims are not paid. New Ireland disclosed three declined death claims in 2024 — all three on non-disclosure grounds.
Serious illness — where the real differences sit
The mylife.ie report's most consequential finding is that specified serious illness paid rates are materially lower than life-cover paid rates, and they vary across the market. The gap is not random: death is a binary event, while a serious illness claim must meet the severity threshold defined in the policy's limits table.
| Life office | SI paid rate (2024) | What this implies |
|---|---|---|
| Irish Life | 92.5% | Highest disclosed paid rate — roughly 1 in 13 SI claims declined |
| New Ireland | 90%+ | 47 declined SI claims; 42 definition not met, 5 non-disclosure |
| Aviva | 82% | Lowest published paid rate — roughly 1 in 6 SI claims declined |
| Zurich Life | In report | Largest single SI claim disclosed in market: €1m |
| Royal London | In report | Largest individual SI claim of €650k |
Irish Life states that “definition not met is the biggest cause of declined specified illness claims.” New Ireland's disclosure of 47 declined SI claims breaks down as 42 definition-not-met and 5 non-disclosure — nearly nine times as many declines on definition grounds as on disclosure grounds.
What gets claimed — cancer dominates
Across all five offices, cancer accounts for 62–68% of serious illness claims. That makes the cancer wording — specifically the partial-payment provisions for early-stage prostate, breast, and other site-specific cancers — the single most important entries in any Irish SI policy's limits table.
| Life office | Cancer share of SI claims (2024) |
|---|---|
| Zurich Life | 68% |
| Irish Life | 66% |
| New Ireland | 64% |
| Aviva | 64% |
| Royal London | 62% |
Frequently asked
Which Irish insurer paid out the most in claims in 2024?
Irish Life paid the largest absolute amount in 2024 — €379.7m across 7,804 claims — reflecting its market-leading share of in-force policies. Total claims paid by all five offices combined exceeded €847.7m, according to mylife.ie's 2024 whole-of-market claims report.
Are serious illness claims paid at the same rate as life cover claims?
No. Life-cover paid rates cluster at 98–99%+ across the market, while serious illness paid rates range from 82% (Aviva) to 92.5% (Irish Life). The gap reflects the structural difference between a binary event (death) and a claim that must meet a clinical severity threshold defined in the policy's limits table.
What is the most common reason for a serious illness claim being declined in Ireland?
Definition not met — the diagnosis is genuine but does not satisfy the severity threshold defined in the policy's limits table. Irish Life states this is the biggest cause of declined specified illness claims. New Ireland disclosed 47 declined SI claims in 2024, of which 42 were definition-not-met and only 5 related to non-disclosure.
What is the most common reason for a life-cover claim being declined?
Material non-disclosure — the policyholder omitted or misrepresented a relevant fact at application. Irish Life states this is the main reason death claims are not paid; all three of New Ireland's declined death claims in 2024 were on non-disclosure grounds.
Is a 99.6% claims-paid rate meaningfully better than 98.5%?
Within the 98–99%+ life-cover band, differences across insurers are small in absolute terms. The meaningful insurer-to-insurer differences in claims experience are in serious illness paid rates and in product mix — not in headline life-cover percentages.
About the author
Donal Milmo-Penny QFA FLIA — Research Lead, mylife.ie. Qualified Financial Adviser and Fellow of the Life Insurance Association. Former Chairman of PIBA and Director of Brokers Ireland.
Source: mylife.ie — Life Insurance Claims in Ireland 2024 (Whole-of-Market Report), published 23 April 2026. Available at mylife.ie/guides/life-insurance-claims-ireland-2024/.
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This article provides general information only and does not constitute personal financial, tax, or legal advice. mylife.ie is a trading name of SMP Financial Ltd, regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland as an insurance intermediary (C42382). Telephone 01 662 9133.