Introduction
This report presents a whole-of-market analysis of the 2024 publicly reported life insurance and protection claims experience in Ireland. It combines provider-level claims material into a single comparative view: total claims paid, product mix, paid-rate experience, illness and mortality causes, age and gender patterns where disclosed, and practical implications for advice quality and policy selection.
The report treats 2024 as the last year for which a full set of market data is available across all five offices. Although Irish Life and Zurich have published 2025 claims updates, comparable 2025 reports for all providers were not yet available at preparation, so 2025 is presented separately as a partial-market appendix rather than as part of the core market totals.
The purpose is not to reproduce provider claims brochures. It is to translate those documents into a single evidence base for advice, product governance and consumer education.
Providers covered and claims paid
Across the five domestic offices in scope, the public 2024 claims reports indicate at least approximately €847.7 million of protection claims paid. The figure is a minimum aggregate because several offices disclose rounded figures, and because product scopes differ by provider.
| Rank | Provider | 2024 claims paid | Claims / count | Share of aggregate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Irish Life | €379.7m | 7,804 | 44.8% |
| 2 | New Ireland / Bank of Ireland Life | €184.0m | 5,538 | 21.7% |
| 3 | Aviva | €129.0m | over 2,800 | 15.2% |
| 4 | Zurich Life | over €98m | 1,333 | 11.6% |
| 5 | Royal London Ireland | over €57m | not disclosed | 6.7% |
| Total (minimum aggregate) | €847.7m+ | 17,475+ | 100% | |
Product mix
Life, death and terminal illness benefits dominate the 2024 market value across all five providers. Across the market, life/death/terminal claims account for approximately €516 million, specified or serious illness for approximately €152 million and income protection for approximately €172 million. Income protection is especially material at Aviva and New Ireland; life/death claims dominate Irish Life, Zurich and Royal London.
| Provider | Life / death / terminal | Serious / specified illness | Income protection |
|---|---|---|---|
| Irish Life | €240.7m | €68.23m | €64.00m |
| New Ireland | €102.3m | €36.47m | €43.57m |
| Aviva | €63.90m | €11.10m | €54.00m |
| Zurich Life | €64.20m | €24.00m | over €10m |
| Royal London | €45.20m | €11.80m | €547k |
Paid-rate experience
The published paid-rate data show very high life/death claim acceptance across the market. Serious illness paid rates are structurally lower because the policy definition of the illness must be met.
| Provider | Life / death paid rate | Serious illness paid rate |
|---|---|---|
| Irish Life | 99.1% | 92.5% |
| New Ireland | over 99% | over 90% |
| Aviva | 98% | 82% |
| Zurich Life | 98.6% | not disclosed |
| Royal London | 98% (total protection) | not separately disclosed |
The structural reason for lower serious illness paid rates is that contracts require the policy definition of the illness to be met. New Ireland disclosed that of 47 declined individual specified illness claims, 42 did not meet the definition and five involved non-disclosure. This pattern reinforces the importance of wording analysis — not just headline premium comparison.
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Get your free quote →Mortality and life-claim causes
Cancer is the leading or joint-leading life/death claim cause across the market, but cardiovascular, respiratory and neurological categories vary materially by provider. Provider differences may reflect portfolio demographics, age distribution, cause coding and product mix.
| Provider | Cancer | Heart / cardiac | Respiratory | Stroke / neurological | Accident / other |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Irish Life | 36% | 32% | 10% | 4% | 1% / 17% |
| New Ireland | 44% | 15% | 10% | 7% | 3% / 21% |
| Aviva | 50% | 16% | combined | 9% | 0% / 25% |
| Zurich Life | 36% | 18% | 18% | 0% | 4% / 24% |
| Royal London | 46% | 13% | 6% | 25% | 5% / 5% |
Serious illness claims
Cancer is even more dominant in serious illness than in life claims. The cancer share of specified or serious illness claims ranges from 62% at Royal London to 68% at Zurich — clustering around the mid-60s percentage range is one of the strongest cross-market findings in the 2024 dataset.
| Provider | Claims | Paid | Cancer share | Avg age | Notable |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Irish Life | 1,145 | €68.23m | 66% | 54 | 92.5% paid; biggest cause malignant breast cancer |
| New Ireland | 442 individual | €36.47m | 64% | 55 | 47 declines: 42 definition not met, 5 non-disclosure |
| Aviva | 150 | €11.1m | 64% | 55 (m) / 52 (f) | 82% paid; male claims 64%, female 36% |
| Zurich Life | 311 | €24m | 68% | 53 | Top 3 causes = 80% of SI claims |
| Royal London | not disclosed | €11.8m | 62% | 48 | Largest SI claim €650,000 |
The serious illness evidence has a direct policy implication: the breadth, quality and clarity of illness definitions are not secondary features. Definition design determines whether a medically serious event is contractually payable, and the market's published decline reasons show that this is where most friction occurs.
Income protection claims
Income protection claims are work-capacity claims, often paid over long durations, with a cause mix more balanced across cancer, musculoskeletal disorders and mental health. The variation across providers is material but the underlying message is consistent: disability income risk is not simply a late-life cancer or heart disease issue.
| Provider | Paid | Claimants | Top causes | Age / duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Irish Life | €64m | 3,086 | Mental health, cancer, musculoskeletal | age 47 |
| New Ireland | €43.57m | 2,473 | Not disclosed | not disclosed |
| Aviva | €54m | approx. 2,200 | Psychological 30%; orthopaedic 24%; cancer 20% | age 49 (m) / 47 (f); avg 7.5 yrs duration |
| Zurich Life | over €10m | 384 | Cancer 37%; musculoskeletal 19%; mental health 15% | age 48; youngest 26 |
| Royal London | €547k | not disclosed | Musculoskeletal 35%; mental health 30%; cancer 13% | age 49; youngest 28 |
Age profile
Average claim ages demonstrate why protection planning should be segmented by product. Life/death claims skew older: Irish Life average 68, New Ireland 67, Zurich 69, Royal London 57. Serious illness claims cluster around working and pre-retirement ages, mostly late 40s to mid-50s. Income protection claims are younger still, with provider averages around 47 to 49.
This age pattern is a strong argument against treating life assurance, serious illness and income protection as substitutes. They address different loss events at different typical life stages: death benefits often protect dependants later in life, serious illness protects against capital shocks during working life, and income protection protects earned-income continuity during the years when mortgage, family and lifestyle commitments are most exposed.
Claim amounts and financial severity
Large claims demonstrate the severity tail in protection risk. Irish Life reported a largest death claim of just under €5 million; Zurich's largest life claim was €1,106,250 and its largest serious illness claim €1 million; Aviva's largest life claim was €1.4 million and largest specified illness claim €414,000; Royal London's largest life cover claim was €1,313,458 and largest serious illness claim €650,000; New Ireland's examples included a €545,196 neurological specified illness payment.
The severity tail matters because protection advice often fails when it focuses on minimum premium rather than exposure. The claims data confirms that very large payments are not theoretical edge cases.
Disclosure, definitions and claims governance
The published 2024 material repeatedly highlights two claims-governance themes: application disclosure and policy definitions. New Ireland disclosed that all three declined death claims were due to non-disclosure. Irish Life stated that material non-disclosure is the main reason death claims are not paid and that definition not met is the biggest cause of declined specified illness claims.
For an adviser, the practical lesson is that claims outcomes are partly created at advice and application stage. The adviser's role is to help the client disclose accurately, understand what is and is not covered, choose definitions appropriate to their risk profile, and preserve evidence that supports future claims.
Key findings summary
| Finding | Evidence | Implication |
|---|---|---|
| At least €847.7m paid in 2024 | Five provider claims reports combined | Protection is a high-frequency, high-severity consumer finance product, not a marginal add-on |
| Cancer dominates serious illness claims | 62%–68% across all five providers | Advice should evaluate cancer wording, partial-payment provisions and related support benefits |
| Life/death claims paid at ~98–99%+ | Consistent across all five offices | Focus on disclosure accuracy and correct sum assured — not fear of valid claims being unpaid |
| Serious illness paid rates are structurally lower | Irish Life 92.5%, New Ireland 90%+, Aviva 82% | Definition quality and wording should be part of provider selection |
| Income protection has a distinct claims profile | Mental health and musculoskeletal are leading causes | Do not evaluate income protection through a life-cover lens |
Frequently asked questions
How much did Irish life insurance offices pay in claims in 2024?+
Which provider paid the most claims in Ireland in 2024?+
What percentage of life insurance death claims are paid in Ireland?+
What is the most common cause of serious illness claims in Ireland?+
Why are serious illness paid rates lower than life insurance paid rates?+
What causes income protection claims in Ireland?+
Why is 2024 used as the base year?+
Methodology and limitations
The dataset is compiled from publicly available provider claims publications, SFCRs, annual reports and provider corporate information pages. The reports are not standard regulatory returns prepared on a common template — some providers include group claims, some include terminal illness inside life cover, some report total protection claims while others report product categories, and several totals are rounded. The aggregate figure should therefore be read as a minimum/approximate market view, not as a statutory market total.
The report does not rank providers by quality solely from claims volumes. Larger claims paid may reflect customer base, sum assured, portfolio age, product mix, distribution strength and historic business scale.
2025 partial-market update
At the time of preparation, Irish Life and Zurich were the only two providers for which 2025 claims updates had been identified. Irish Life reported €404.3 million in protection claims across 7,907 individual claims — continued scale growth versus the €379.7 million full 2024 total. Zurich reported €122.3 million in life and serious illness claims plus €9.9 million of income protection claims. These figures are not aggregated into the whole-of-market totals, which remain on a 2024 base for full comparability.