Insurance claims statistics vary sharply by product. In the UK general insurance value measures reported by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), 2024 claims frequency ranged from 2.7% for home contents-only insurance to 207.4% for healthcare cash plans. Acceptance rates ranged from 63.2% for home buildings-only insurance to 98.8% for motor insurance.
This article covers January–December 2023 and January–December 2024. The figures are descriptive UK market data from the FCA General insurance value measures data 2024. They are not consumer advice and do not constitute a dedicated microinsurance dataset.
Contents
- Claims frequency by product
- Claims acceptance rates
- Average claims payouts
- Complaints as a share of claims
- Premiums paid out in claims
- Policy volumes behind the figures
Claims frequency by product
Claims frequency is not directly comparable across all product designs. A percentage above 100% can occur where a product records more claims events than the number of policies used as the comparison base. The healthcare cash-plan figures therefore need to be read as a product-specific measure, not as evidence that every policyholder made two claims.
The FCA reported the following frequencies:
| Product | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Dental insurance | 6.5% | 6.5% |
| Motor insurance | 10.3% | 9.6% |
| Home buildings and contents | 4.9% | 4.5% |
| Home buildings-only | 2.7% | 2.8% |
| Home contents-only | 3.0% | 2.7% |
| Healthcare cash plans | 206.7% | 207.4% |
| Life-cover pet insurance | 42.6% | 42.0% |
| Annual European travel insurance | 4.8% | 5.1% |
| Stand-alone vehicle breakdown | 35.1% | 33.3% |
Motor insurance frequency fell from 10.3% in 2023 to 9.6% in 2024. The combined home buildings-and-contents measure declined from 4.9% to 4.5%, while home contents-only declined from 3.0% to 2.7%. Home buildings-only moved in the opposite direction, from 2.7% to 2.8%.
The two higher-frequency protection products also changed modestly. Life-cover pet insurance declined from 42.6% to 42.0%, and stand-alone vehicle breakdown insurance declined from 35.1% to 33.3%. Annual European travel insurance increased from 4.8% to 5.1%. Dental insurance was unchanged at 6.5% in both years. All figures in this section are from the FCA value measures workbook.
Claims acceptance rates
Acceptance rates show the share of reported claims accepted for each product in the FCA data. They should be considered alongside the product’s coverage terms, claim frequency and payout size; an acceptance rate by itself does not describe the value of an individual claim.
| Product | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Dental insurance | 94.0% | 93.5% |
| Motor insurance | 99.0% | 98.8% |
| Home buildings and contents | 71.9% | 70.7% |
| Home buildings-only | 63.0% | 63.2% |
| Home contents-only | 76.5% | 73.5% |
| Healthcare cash plans | 92.7% | 92.8% |
| Life-cover pet insurance | 95.2% | 94.5% |
| Annual worldwide travel | 78.9% | 84.5% |
| Stand-alone vehicle breakdown | 94.7% | 95.4% |
Motor insurance had the highest listed 2024 acceptance rate at 98.8%, followed by stand-alone vehicle breakdown insurance at 95.4%, life-cover pet insurance at 94.5%, dental insurance at 93.5% and healthcare cash plans at 92.8%. The lowest 2024 rates in this group were home buildings-only insurance at 63.2%, combined home buildings-and-contents insurance at 70.7% and home contents-only insurance at 73.5%.
Annual worldwide travel insurance recorded the largest year-to-year increase among the listed products, rising from 78.9% in 2023 to 84.5% in 2024. Home contents-only acceptance fell from 76.5% to 73.5%, while combined home buildings-and-contents acceptance fell from 71.9% to 70.7%. These are reported market measures for the two calendar years, not forecasts.
Average claims payouts
The average payout figures indicate the average amount paid for a claim in pounds sterling. Product design and claim severity matter: low-frequency cover can still have a high average payout, while a high-frequency product can have a low average payout.
| Product | 2023 average | 2024 average |
|---|---|---|
| Dental insurance | £123.45 | £122.42 |
| Motor insurance | £3,536.09 | £3,764.67 |
| Home buildings and contents | £4,529.50 | £5,738.33 |
| Home buildings-only | £6,390.87 | £7,425.99 |
| Home contents-only | £1,659.23 | £2,134.51 |
| Healthcare cash plans | £65.82 | £65.02 |
| Life-cover pet insurance | £626.48 | £645.35 |
| Annual worldwide travel | £1,491.81 | £1,614.99 |
| Stand-alone personal accident | £4,119.64 | £4,069.07 |
Home buildings-only insurance had the highest average payout among the listed products in both years: £6,390.87 in 2023 and £7,425.99 in 2024. Combined home buildings-and-contents insurance rose from £4,529.50 to £5,738.33. Home contents-only insurance rose from £1,659.23 to £2,134.51.
Motor insurance increased from £3,536.09 to £3,764.67, while annual worldwide travel insurance increased from £1,491.81 to £1,614.99. Life-cover pet insurance rose from £626.48 to £645.35. Dental insurance changed from £123.45 to £122.42, and healthcare cash plans changed from £65.82 to £65.02. Stand-alone personal accident insurance declined from £4,119.64 to £4,069.07. The source labels these measures as average claims payouts; they are not a price comparison or an estimate of an individual’s likely settlement.
Complaints as a share of claims
The FCA also reported claim complaints as a percentage of claims. This is a narrower measure than all complaints about an insurer or product, and should not be interpreted as a claim-denial rate.
| Product | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Dental insurance | 1.3% | 0.9% |
| Motor insurance | 7.1% | 6.9% |
| Home buildings and contents | 10.4% | 10.8% |
| Home buildings-only | 14.2% | 13.1% |
| Home contents-only | 6.0% | 5.6% |
| Healthcare cash plans | 0.1% | 0.1% |
| Life-cover pet insurance | 1.3% | 1.2% |
| Annual worldwide travel | 5.7% | 4.9% |
| Stand-alone vehicle breakdown | 2.1% | 1.7% |
Home buildings-only insurance had the highest complaint share in both years, although it fell from 14.2% to 13.1%. Combined home buildings-and-contents insurance increased from 10.4% to 10.8%, the only increase among the home measures shown here. Motor insurance declined from 7.1% to 6.9%, while home contents-only declined from 6.0% to 5.6%.
Healthcare cash plans had a complaint share of 0.1% in both years. Dental insurance fell from 1.3% to 0.9%, life-cover pet insurance from 1.3% to 1.2%, annual worldwide travel from 5.7% to 4.9%, and stand-alone vehicle breakdown from 2.1% to 1.7%.
Premiums paid out in claims
The percentage of premiums paid out in claims provides a product-level view of claims paid relative to premiums. It is not the same as an individual policyholder’s return, and it does not include an interpretation of how insurers allocate every premium pound.
In 2024, healthcare cash plans paid out 68.7% of premiums in claims, the highest percentage among the listed products with a reported measure. Life-cover pet insurance paid out 57.7%, motor insurance 54.4%, home buildings-only 49.0%, and combined home buildings-and-contents 46.3%.
| Product | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Dental insurance | 42.3% | 41.5% |
| Motor insurance | 56.3% | 54.4% |
| Home buildings and contents | 44.9% | 46.3% |
| Home buildings-only | 50.6% | 49.0% |
| Home contents-only | 33.6% | 32.4% |
| Healthcare cash plans | 71.6% | 68.7% |
| Life-cover pet insurance | 65.6% | 57.7% |
| Annual worldwide travel | 45.9% | 37.4% |
| Stand-alone gadget insurance | 59.3% | 42.9% |
Most listed products recorded a lower percentage in 2024 than in 2023. The largest listed decline was for stand-alone gadget insurance, from 59.3% to 42.9%, followed by annual worldwide travel insurance, from 45.9% to 37.4%, and life-cover pet insurance, from 65.6% to 57.7%. Combined home buildings-and-contents insurance increased from 44.9% to 46.3%.
Policy volumes behind the figures
Policy counts provide context for the scale of the markets represented in the FCA workbook. The following are average policies in force during each calendar year, not unique people and not counts of claims.
| Product | 2023 average policies | 2024 average policies |
|---|---|---|
| Motor insurance | 33,256,552.89 | 32,785,363.21 |
| Home buildings and contents | 14,899,675.41 | 15,442,880.87 |
| Stand-alone vehicle breakdown | 8,159,747.53 | 7,861,260.72 |
| Life-cover pet insurance | 4,706,365.33 | 4,581,998.09 |
| Home contents-only | 3,985,834.11 | 4,298,136.08 |
| Healthcare cash plans | 2,283,831.14 | 2,336,578.23 |
| Annual worldwide travel | 1,864,037.92 | 1,788,653.41 |
| Home buildings-only | 1,899,855.57 | 1,867,098.85 |
| Dental insurance | 1,467,085.50 | 1,453,340.33 |
Motor insurance had the largest average policy base in both years, decreasing from 33,256,552.89 policies in 2023 to 32,785,363.21 in 2024. Combined home buildings-and-contents insurance increased from 14,899,675.41 to 15,442,880.87. Home contents-only insurance increased from 3,985,834.11 to 4,298,136.08, while healthcare cash plans increased from 2,283,831.14 to 2,336,578.23.
The remaining listed policy bases decreased: stand-alone vehicle breakdown fell from 8,159,747.53 to 7,861,260.72; life-cover pet insurance from 4,706,365.33 to 4,581,998.09; annual worldwide travel from 1,864,037.92 to 1,788,653.41; home buildings-only from 1,899,855.57 to 1,867,098.85; and dental insurance from 1,467,085.50 to 1,453,340.33.
These figures should be read within the FCA workbook’s scope: UK general insurance value measures for January–December 2023 and January–December 2024. The dataset is descriptive market data rather than a dedicated microinsurance study. Where a measure is blank or unavailable, it is reported as such in the source rather than inferred.