IRISH LIFE has paid out more than €1 billion in death, specified illness and income protection claims to more than 30,000 families in the past five years, a survey of its claims book published this morning indicates.

Malignant cancer and heart conditions continue to be the main reason for payouts on policies, the survey shows.

Over the past 12 months, the company paid out more than €230 million to almost 8,000 families.

The insurer said it had seen a substantial increase in the number of claims and their value across most of its life, serious illness and payment protection products since 2005.

“Our figures show that one in four people will at some stage suffer from a serious illness such as a heart attack or malignant cancer, while one in 10 will die before they reach retirement age,” said Martin Duffy, head of claims at Irish Life.

Mr Duffy said road accidents accounted for one in four accident-related claims in 2010.

He said 11 per cent of all accident claims settled by the company involved alcohol.

“It seems clear that we still have some way to go in educating people about the relationship between fatal accidents and alcohol,” Mr Duffy said.

Cancer and heart-related complaints were responsible for a majority of both death and specified illness claims last year.

Specified illness cover is designed to pay a one-off lump sum when a person is diagnosed as suffering from one of the illnesses which are listed in his or her policy.

Of 1,256 death claims paid out by Irish Life, 44 per cent related to cancer, while 19 per cent related to heart complaints.

The study shows there continue to be significant differences in the death claims profiles between men and women, with men four times more prone to heart-related complaints than women.

Irish Life said it had paid out an average of €65,000 to the families of policyholders who died last year.

When Irish Life analysed specified illness claims made last year, which were worth over €32 million, it found one in three came from people who were aged under 40.

Cancer and heart-related conditions were the main cause of specified illness claims, with cancer accounting for 58 per cent of the total and heart conditions accounting for 22 per cent.

Breast cancer, with 85 claims, was the biggest single cause of specified illness cover claims.

Men accounted for an overwhelming 10 times more heart-related claims compared with women.

The biggest cause of claims for men was heart attack, with 54 claims, followed closely by prostate cancer, with 50 claims

Critics of the specified illness cover policies issued by all companies operating in the market say the terms and conditions are worded very tightly and are very restrictive in order to minimise the number of payouts.