The long established income protection provider Dentists Provident, has released its claims statistics for 2022.
The member owned mutual which was established in 1908, experienced nearly 60% more claims than in the previous year. Behind this was a rise in COVID related claims, which were usually of a shorter duration than previous years. 99.1% of claims received a payment. This figure was not entirely unexpected, given that 98.9% of 2021 claims were paid. With 1679 claims received during 2022, only 15 were declined.
The largest individual payment made was £62,430 and although the highest percentage of claimants were in the 46 to 55 year old age group, dentists from their 20s onwards were able to make claims on their income protection. In one example of how they were able to provide support to members, Dentists Provident describe the case of an associate in their 20s who after fracturing their arm in a hiking accident was unable to work for eight weeks while recovering. Payment from their income protection plan helped them until they could return to practice.
Types of incapacity included, but were not restricted to, musculoskeletal disorders, infectious diseases, cardiovascular disease and accidents, as well as psychiatric disorders.
With the pandemic in progress the majority of claims for infectious diseases were related to COVID. Farrukh Mirza, CEO of Dentists’ Provident, commented, “Nearly three years on from the pandemic and we have again seen a resurgence in COVID claims, thankfully for our members, the vast majority of infections have been less severe and of a shorter duration.”
Commenting on the statistics Simon Elliott, Chief Risk Officer said: “We take pride in our personalised and thorough underwriting, giving members confidence they have a dependable income protection plan that works for them. In 2022 we have had one of the highest levels of claims paid but without a corresponding increase in complaints. It is easy to attribute our success solely to our people and our processes but none of this would be possible without our members, who have been incredible.”