Insurers have for the first time released official data on their payout rates for critical illness cover (CIC) and life insurance policies, showing that, on average, more than 90 per cent of claims are paid.

The data from the Association of British Insurers (ABI) marks the first time industry-wide statistics on claims for these products have been formally compiled. The products have suffered from a poor reputation in recent years due to controversial disputes over claims rejections, particularly for critical illness.

Private investors have increasingly been selling shares as the stock market rally slows, in order to take profits on holdings bought earlier in the year, according to the latest analysis of trades by 1.6m UK shareholders.

In October and November, individual investors sold a net £637m-worth of equities, more than treble the amount they pulled out of the market in August and September. Figures from Capita Registrars, which records private shareholdings in more than 2,000 UK and Irish companies, show that this latest sell-off takes the total value of shares sold in the past five months to £900m.