The Association of British Insurers (ABI) has published its COVID-19 insurance claims estimates for 2020.
Released on Saturday (February 20), the figures are based on the coronavirus-related claims incurred in the past year by members of the ABI. Here are the numbers:
|
Type of insurance |
Estimated payout |
|
Business interruption insurance |
£2 billion |
|
Protection insurance (including life, critical illness, etc.) |
£204 million |
|
Travel insurance |
£152 million |
|
Other general insurance (including events, liability, etc.) |
£121 million |
Of the £2.5 billion estimated total, the trade body said £697 million had already been paid out for the abovementioned claims as of the middle of January 2021.
“The COVID-19 pandemic is unprecedented in its impact and will be one of the biggest insured events of recent times,” commented director general Huw Evans. “These latest estimates demonstrate the range of support ABI members expect to offer their customers as a result of COVID-19 related claims across a wide range of insurance policies.
“This data was collected from individual firms by the ABI in mid-late January, and millions of pounds continue to be paid out every week in claims settlements.”
Evans added that, given “some uncomfortable gaps between what people expected to be covered for and what their policy was designed for,” lessons need to be learned from the pandemic and the insurance industry must redouble its efforts to improve consumer trust.
Meanwhile, in a separate release today (February 22), the ABI announced that the COVID-19 Support Fund – an initiative by the UK insurance and long-term savings industry – will be donating £4.2 million and £2.1 million, respectively, to charities Shaw Trust and Learning and Work Institute.
