Discovery Life pays R11.5 billion in claims, with cancer topping the list of causes

Annual claim statistics for Discovery Life, a subsidiary of Discovery Limited, show that the company paid at least R11.5 billion in 2025 to clients with the majority of the money going to individual life insurance claims. The company said cancer remains a significant driver of claims. The statistics were released earlier in the week, revealing that 65% of individual life policy payouts were for supporting clients through illness, disability and income loss, and for shared-value payments to manage their health and wellness.

“Life insurance is no longer just about what happens when someone dies. More and more, it’s about supporting people while they are still alive, helping them navigate severe illness, disability or income disruption,” said Gareth Friedlander, deputy CEO of Discovery Life. Discovery Lifeprovides individual and group life cover, health-related benefits and shared-value products.

For 2025, R6.9 billion went to individual life insurance claims, R2.4 billion to shared-value payments and R2.2 billion to group risk claims. Out of the R6.9 billion that went to individual life insurance claims, R3.2 billion was paid through life cover benefits, R1.8 billion for severe illness benefits, R987 million for capital disability benefits were paid as lump sums and R684 million was paid through income continuation benefits. The income continuation benefits provide an income when clients can’t work because of a covered illness or disability.

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“R268 million was paid through additional benefits, including funeral plan cover and the Global Education Protector,” said the insurer. The Global Education Protector covers the cost of education from preschool to tertiary if a parent passes away or suffers a severe illness or disability. “Across the industry, around 20% to 30% of payouts are living benefits.

At Discovery Life, 52% of risk payouts now support clients during life, which reflects how life insurance is evolving to provide protection throughout a person’s life,” said Friedlander. “Cancer remains a significant driver of claims, but early detection is rising,” said the insurer. Cancer continues to be a major contributor to claims across all benefits: The company noted that since 2022, Severe Illness claims for lower-severity cancers (severity D to G) have increased by 22% annually, compared with an 11% annual increase for higher-severity cancers (severity A to C).

“We’re seeing earlier detection in cancers with established screening programmes, including breast, prostate, cervical and colon cancer,” said Dr Deidre Kotze, chief medical officer at Discovery Life. “Early detection dramatically improves outcomes. For example, someone diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer has a five-year survival rate of 96%, while men diagnosed with localised prostate cancer can expect a 99% five-year survival rate.”

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