Mental health: supporting people, protecting income

By the end of December, a total of 1.87 million people in the UK had sought assistance from mental health services in 2023²
 

Numbers like these confirm that mental health really matters. It’s a crucial aspect of our overall health, encompassing our emotional, psychological, and social well-being, mental health affects how we think, feel, and act. 

Mental health disorders are common and can affect anyone, regardless of age, gender, or background. They come in various forms, such as anxiety disorders, depression, bipolar disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Each disorder has its own set of symptoms and challenges, and they can significantly impact a person’s daily life. 

Supporting the person behind every claim

Helping to protect the income of people who are prevented from working due to mental health issues is a vital part of what we do at Aviva. But we go beyond financial support to provide a broad spectrum of mental health services, all part and parcel of the policies we offer. The scale of the claims we’ve supported shows just how much impact mental health has on the people we protect.

In addition to providing income protection, we saw a 53% increase in new mental health rehabilitation cases in 2023, compared to 2022¹. And the support we offered made a real difference: 

81% of all people who received our mental health rehabilitation support in 2023 successfully returned to work¹

Early intervention and rehabilitation support services are non-contractual benefits that Aviva can change or remove at any time. 

Cancer and mental health: partnering with Macmillan Cancer Support

One of our partners, the leading cancer support charity Macmillan, has seen a worrying rise in people with cancer contacting its support line with financial concerns, coupled with significant mental health issues. As of mid-November 2023, the number of these callers had increased by 33% in 2023 compared to 2022³.

Where a customer needs to take extended time off work due to mental health concerns we stand ready to offer financial support with income protection. But again, we go beyond this. Our support streamlines the referral process, as well as offering case-specific rehabilitation and efficient claims assessments. 

Fast mental health consultations

The Aviva DigiCare+ and Aviva DigiCare+ Workplace apps, provided by Square Health, offer 30-minute mental health consultations. This enables employees and customers to talk to a mental health therapist. Sometimes, one single session is all they need. In 2023, we’ve had 10,743 mental health consultations booked through the apps. And within this number, 100% were available within 48 hours of booking the consultation⁴.

The Aviva DigiCare+ and Aviva DigiCare+ Workplace apps are non-contractual benefits Aviva can change or withdraw at any time. Terms and conditions and the privacy policy can be read within the apps, residency restrictions apply.

By making it our business to help ease the challenges faced by people navigating mental health issues, we’ve established a set of mental health support and resources to help safeguard the mental well-being of employees and individual customers alike. This is how our support goes beyond numbers, to support the person behind every claim.


Find out more in Aviva’s 2024 Individual protection claims and wellbeing insights report 
 

Jacqueline Kerwood

Head of Claims Strategy and Governance

Sources:

1 Aviva's 2024 Individual protection claims and wellbeing insights report

2 ‘Mental Health Services Monthly Statistics, Performance December 2023’. NHS Digital, 8 Feb 2024. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

3 Charity sees a rise in crisis calls as tens of thousands of cancer patients ‘struggle to survive due to devastating financial hardship’, published 12th December 2023, by Media & PR at Macmillan, Macmillan press releases and statements, Medium.

4 Square Health, January to December 2023