Consumers who are reluctant to take out any sort of private health insurance may be comforted to know that a leading critical illness provider has paid out a staggering £28 million in claims over a 12 month period.

Scottish Widows has released details of it’s claims record, showing between November 2007 and October 2008 an average of £543,000 was awarded to claimer’s every week.

Intriguingly the amount of claims rejected had fallen to just 2%. The policy covers the holder for a lump sum amount should they be diagnosed with what would be considered a critical condition, such as cancer or a heart attack.

Richard Jones at Scottish Widows says, “We are pleased to have increased the claims we have paid and to have significantly reduced the number of claims declined due to non-disclosure. Critical Illness cover is extremely important as illness can affect us at any time. Our aim is to raise awareness of the benefits of critical illness cover. We want to play a key role in helping people take control and prepare for the unforeseen, being there to support and provide them with money when they need it most.”

In fact the amount of rejected insurance claims has fallen across the board over the last year. Records provided by the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) have shown that after assessing all rejected claims that are put to them, only 90 out of 56,000 have been. In total insurers paid out £2bn in 2007 and 2008.