Life insurance payouts to be speeded up

Life insurance payouts will be speeded up so that it takes only four weeks for a person to receive money, rather than the current four months, those looking for probate solicitors have been told.

The beneficiaries and dependents of a person who has died will be able to sign a declaration which means that they can receive any payout quicker than in the past.

However, the agreement means that they will have to pay back any money from the policy if it is decided by legal experts that they were not the correct recipient of the funds.

Otto Thoresen, director general of the Association of British Insurers, said: "Dealing with bereavement is hard enough, without the added stress of worrying about money. We believe this new life insurance claims process will go some way to alleviating financial hardship for a deceased person's dependants, especially families on lower incomes with few other assets available to rely on."

Recently, it was reported by Scottish Widows that just 44 per cent of adults in the UK are covered by life insurance.