Friends Life: "Work is needed before we publish IP claims stats"

The provider said it had not published IP claims statistics because "work was still needed on that consensus to ensure a more consistent basis for reporting".

A spokesperson for Friends Life said: "A lot of work has been undertaken across the industry, co-ordinated through the ABI, to agree a consensus for reporting claims statistics for income protection.

"While we are getting closer to industry-wide data, we remain concerned about the differing criteria that still remain regarding claims."

Bright Grey and Scottish Provident published IP claims statistics for the first time last week leaving Friends Life the only major provider yet to publish claims figures for the product area.

The Friends Life spokesperson said that IP claims statistics differed depending on the age of the book of business and the structure of the product.

"Some products have very short deferral periods but may pay out for only a limited period of time," the spokesperson said.

"Similarly, some claims may be initially accepted but later terminated when the full circumstances become apparent. It is therefore difficult to draw clear conclusions unless the comparison is between two books of similar business. We will continue to review our position in light of the ABI's progress."

Nick Kirwan, executive member of the Income Protection Task Force, said there needed to be IP claims statistics published across the board to achieve full openness and transparency in the industry.

He added: "I suspect that the legacy business complicates things for Friends Life and could be hard to amalgamate. It is not sufficient to tick boxes in publishing these statistics but it is necessary for Friends Life to do so.

"It is probably feeling the pressure to publish but what has been displayed by the other providers is that they have nothing to hide. Income protection is more complicated than say critical illness and term but the industry has to move towards something more transparent."