Key person insurance claims: how a claim works
Key person insurance claims are made by the business, because the company owns the plan, pays the premiums and receives the proceeds (Royal London ↗).
This guide covers when you can claim, the documents insurers say they ask for, the timelines they publish and why claims are declined.
Every claim here is our summary of a named external source, linked beside it. Sources change: check the wording at the link before you rely on it.
Key person insurance claims, the key facts
The ABI reported that the proportion of protection claims paid in 2025 remained at 97.9%, that insurers paid £7.84 billion in individual and group protection claims, and that 258,000 new individual claims were paid (ABI ↗).
Those are figures for all protection insurance, not key person cover alone; we found no published claims figure for key person policies.
The payout on a key person policy goes to the employer (Legal & General ↗).
How to make a key person insurance claim
The company is the plan owner (Royal London ↗), so the company makes the claim.
Legal & General's policy summary says to get in touch using the contact details in the policy summary to cancel or claim (Legal & General ↗).
Aviva's Business Life Insurance Options policy summary gives a phone number to call to make a claim (Aviva ↗).
Legal & General says there are no claims cut-off periods on its key person cover (Legal & General ↗).
Where the premiums were deducted for tax, HMRC treats the payout as income of the trade (HMRC ↗).
Contact
The company tells the insurer
Using the claims contact in the policy documents. The company owns the policy, so it claims.
Evidence
Send what the insurer asks for
Aviva lists certificates, photo ID, a will, trust deed or grant of probate, and medical evidence from the GP.
Assess
The insurer assesses the claim
Aviva says the GP report and the information given are normally processed within five working days.
Pay
The payout goes to the company
Aviva pays an approved claim within a further five working days. The money is the business’s.
Steps from Aviva's claims guide (Aviva ↗) and Royal London (Royal London ↗). Other insurers publish their own.
When can you claim on key person insurance?
Legal & General says a claim can be made if the person insured passes away, is diagnosed with a terminal illness, or has a specified critical illness if critical illness cover was chosen at the outset (Legal & General ↗).
Cover runs from the policy start date to its expiry date (Legal & General ↗).
A critical illness claim has to meet the policy's definition.
The ABI's minimum standards say a policy called critical illness must cover cancer, heart attack and stroke to specified minimum definitions (ABI ↗).
Documents required for a claim
The clearest published list we found is Aviva's.
Its claims guide says it may ask for birth, death or marriage certificates, photo ID such as a passport or driving licence, and a copy of a will, trust deed or grant of probate (Aviva ↗).
It requests medical evidence from the GP itself (Aviva ↗).
That guide covers Aviva's life cover claims generally, not company-owned policies alone.
The insurer will tell the company what it needs for its claim; ask it, or the adviser who arranged the policy.
- Certificates
Birth, death or marriage certificates (Aviva ↗).
- Identity
Photo ID, like a passport or driving licence (Aviva ↗).
- Legal papers
A copy of a will, trust deed or grant of probate (Aviva ↗).
- Medical evidence
Aviva asks the GP for it separately (Aviva ↗).
Aviva's list for life cover claims. Other insurers set their own requirements.
How long does a claim take?
Aviva publishes its timings for life cover claims: the GP report and any information given are normally processed within five working days, and an approved claim is paid within a further five working days (Aviva ↗).
We found no published timeline for key person claims across insurers, or for critical illness claims, so we give none.
Legal & General says there are no claims cut-off periods on its key person cover (Legal & General ↗).
Why claims are declined
The ABI names two common reasons: policyholders failing to disclose existing medical conditions when they took out the policy, and not meeting the policy definitions (ABI ↗).
Legal & General's policy summary lists exclusions, including suicide or intentional and serious self-injury within the first year (Legal & General ↗).
A lapsed policy cannot pay.
Legal & General says cover ends 60 days after the first missed premium (Legal & General ↗); Aviva's policy summary says the policy won't pay out if it has ended because premiums were not paid (Aviva ↗).
Insurers publish their own paid rates for all protection claims.
Years and definitions differ, so the table is not a ranking, and none of it is specific to key person cover.
Each figure is the publisher's own, for its protection claims as a whole. Check each at its link.
Tips for a smooth claims process
Most of what makes a claim go smoothly is done long before it.
Each point below comes from the ABI, an insurer or the Financial Ombudsman.
If the company disagrees with a decision, the Financial Ombudsman says it can help micro-enterprises and small businesses, including limited companies (Financial Ombudsman ↗).
A small business there has annual turnover under £6.5 million and a balance sheet under £5 million or fewer than 50 employees (Financial Ombudsman ↗).
- At application
Disclose existing medical conditions: non-disclosure is a common reason claims are declined (ABI ↗).
- Keep it in force
Unpaid premiums end cover: 60 days after the first missed premium at Legal & General (Legal & General ↗).
- Know the definitions
Not meeting the policy definitions is the other common reason (ABI ↗). Read the critical illness definitions now.
- Know who to call
Keep the policy summary where others can find it: the claims contact is in it (Legal & General ↗).
Check it for yourself
Every claim on this page is our summary of one of the documents listed here.
We last checked them against the live sources on 28 September 2026.
The documents are the authority, not this page.
Insurers and HMRC update them, so validate any figure or condition at its link before you rely on it.
- ABI: protection claims paid in 2025 ↗Claims paid, the proportion paid and new claims (June 2026)
- ABI: protection claims paid in 2024 ↗Common reasons claims are declined
- ABI Guide to Minimum Standards for Critical Illness Cover ↗The minimum definitions a critical illness policy must meet
- Aviva: making a life insurance claim ↗Aviva’s claim steps, supporting documents and processing times
- Aviva Business Life Insurance Options policy summary ↗How to claim, and no payout once the policy ends for unpaid premiums (AL15005 09/2026)
- Legal & General Business Life Insurance policy summary ↗Cover period, exclusions, missed premiums and how to claim
- Legal & General Key Person Protection (adviser) ↗No claims cut-off periods
- Legal & General key person insurance ↗Who is paid, and the events a claim can be made for
- Legal & General Key Person Protection technical guide ↗Proceeds of a valid claim payable to the company
- Royal London key person protection ↗The company owns the plan and receives the proceeds
- HMRC Business Income Manual, BIM45525 ↗How a payout is taxed
- Royal London: our claims experience ↗Share of claims paid in 2025
- Scottish Widows: claims paid in 2024 ↗Share of protection claims paid
- Aviva: protection claims paid in 2024 ↗Share of individual protection claims paid
- LV=: protection claims paid ↗Share of individual protection claims paid, 2024
- Financial Ombudsman Service: who we can help ↗Micro-enterprises and small businesses
Key person insurance claims, answered
Not financial advice. This page is general information. Before buying insurance, the FCA tells consumers to check the firm on its Firm Checker (FCA ↗). For free guidance, see MoneyHelper.