Why wellbeing services could be game-changers

Recent years have brought health and wellbeing sharply into focus as people have had time to reflect on what’s important to them. Many may have also struggled during the challenges we all faced during the pandemic.

And that has changed how both employers and employees are thinking about workplace benefits like group protection policies.

Employers and employees alike are looking at workplace health benefits

The Covid-19 pandemic brought sickness, absenteeism, and mortality to the forefront of people’s minds.

For employers, it’s important to have a happy, healthy workforce. Employees are the lifeblood of a company and if they are off sick, it makes it difficult to run a successful business. This means employers are increasingly looking at ways to reduce future health-related staff absences. They also need to be able to support their employees, keep existing talent and attract high quality new employees.

For employees, those searching for a new role are likely to  look more favourably at companies with a strong reputation for looking after the health and wellbeing of their people.

And that’s where having an effective health and wellbeing strategy can make a huge difference.

A group protection policy is just the start...

Financial protection can be the bedrock of a benefits package. But when your client is wanting to look after their employees, is that enough these days?

Preventing illnesses is as important as treating illness. At Aviva, we believe that looking after the physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing of employees is key to building a happy, healthy, productive workforce.

That’s why we offer employees covered by our group protection policies access to non-contractual benefits to help them stay on top of their health. An example is Aviva DigiCare+ Workplace, an app provided by Square Health. It offers access to a number of services to help employees prevent, detect, and manage potential health issues. You can find information on the app and services here. 

And these services are proving popular…

Employees are using more digital services

App registration and service usage figures show how useful these services are amongst employees.* Since it's launch in 2020, we’ve seen more than 117,000 registrations for the  Aviva DigiCare+ Workplace app.

In 2022, the most popular service was the ‘at-home’ annual Health Check which looks at 20 different health markers, for which more than 9,400 test kits were ordered. 50% of returned Health Checks highlighted high cholesterol levels, and more than 1,700 users requested a follow up Digital GP appointment through the app to discuss their results further. The second most popular service was the Digital GP service, with 3,242 appointments booked.

So, having a range of added value services like these as part of their health and wellbeing strategy could be a game-changer for employers – especially as they come at no extra cost.

It’s time to shout about health and wellbeing support

Our own statistics show that employers don’t always recognise the extra value they get from their group protection policies with wellbeing services like those available through Aviva DigiCare+ Workplace.

We’ve found that the take up of the services is good amongst employers who promote it, and employees find it a valuable addition to their benefits package. But,many employees who are eligible for these types of services simply don’t know they exist.

That’s where advisers can play a decisive role. By making sure clients know exactly what they can get alongside their group protection policies, you can rack up several big wins

• Your clients understand their policy better and the value it brings them
• Employees get the help they need when they need it
• Employers may see a reduction in sickness and absenteeism
• You underline the value of professional advice

Your insured clients simply need to activate Aviva DigiCare+ Workplace, by uploading insured employee email addresses into the easy-to-use Square Health Customer Portal. You can find out how here.

Once done, employees can access the services offered. 

So, with effective health and wellbeing services now becoming increasingly important to employers and employees alike, isn’t it time to start shouting about what’s already out there? 

The Aviva DigiCare+ Workplace app and services are non-contractual benefits, which Aviva can change or withdraw at any time. Terms and residency restrictions apply. 

Source information:

*Aviva DigiCare+ Workplace registration data includes all registrations up to and including 31 August 2023. Usage figures relate to service use between 1 January and 31 August 2022. Data provided by Square Health.