Missing out on a small fortune?

Many people don’t take out life and critical illness insurance, because they think that insurance companies will always try to avoid paying the claim – well they need to think again!

Over the last five years Aviva has paid out more than £2.2 million in critical illness payments to customers who didn't realise they could claim under their policies.

The claims were identified when the customers contacted the insurer to make changes to existing policies (for example when moving house) or to apply for a new insurance plan.

Since the start of 2009, 21 claims were found on policies which were live when the customer was diagnosed with a critical illness which met the policy criteria.

One case meant that the customer received £325,000 as a result of their claim. Aviva has released the information to encourage people to check what cover they have in place, to make sure they don't miss out on valuable benefits.

Almost half of the cases identified - nine out of 21 - were for Malignant Melanoma, a condition which has attracted attention in recent weeks, after scientists reported that they may have found a cure for more advanced cases.

Robert Morrison, chief underwriter for Aviva says: "Providers and advisers make every effort to ensure customers understand their cover, but over time people may forget exactly what they have in place. It's upsetting to think there are cases where people could benefit from their policies but don't know that they can claim.

"The good news is that in these instances we were able to see that the customers had valid claims, so we could process them retrospectively. We'd urge anyone who has a protection policy to take a few moments to check what it covers - just so they can be sure they won't miss out if the unexpected happens."