Group Income Protection

My name is Brian Stacey, I work in engineering, I’m an NDT inspector and, I’ve done that for 35 years.

Before, I was very active. Used to go to the gym, go out most weekends and things like that.

I was at my friends shop and he noticed that my face had dropped and my speech was slurred and other things like that.

Sat at his shop and a ambulance pulls up outside. I say who’s that for?

He says you.

Did all the heart monitors and things like that and said we reckon you’ve had a stroke.

And then we went down to the hospital. They said you’ve had a bleed on the brain, on your left hand side. Which is where the weak side was. My speech was fine, to a degree. But, I was a bit slurred and things like that.

I then had a year off with the stroke and just got on with it really. I just wasn’t gonna give in and just carried on going.

My name is Anna O’Shaughnessy I work for a company called Krysalis consultancy limited.

Krysalis is a leading provider of neurological rehabilitation services in the UK, and offer a variety of different service streams to individuals with complex neurological conditions.

if an individual has a group income protection policy with Aviva, then a referral will come through to Krysalis following perhaps a diagnosis of a neurological condition or a neurological injury that an individual has sustained.

we deliver occupational therapy services and conduct comprehensive assessments with people to be able to understand and learn about the individual themselves, to establish how Krysalis may be able to support that individual through their rehabilitation journey.

The initial stage is getting in contact with Brian and having an initial chat and conversation and to introduce myself, my role, I very quickly learnt how open and honest Brian is, and started to understand him as a person right from that very first conversation.

We then arrange a more formal remote assessment where we conduct a variety of conversations, discussion and assessment to be able to underpin the challenges that Brian was facing at the time.

Additional things I worked with Brian on was relating to was things like fatigue management. The amount of energy that the brain needs to recover and heal and rewire that neuroplasticity is immense.

So its really important to help Brian to understand his symptoms, to understand why he was feeling the way he was feeling and to then look at his everyday life in order to help him. Its important for the organisation to understand element of Brians condition and how best they can support him at work.

Krysalis has been really good with me and the young lady they sent, Anna to help me out with all the different ideas and things like that to progress me on.

Its made me more confident outside of work as well. My driving has got a lot better.

I then went back to work. I cant do the job I was originally doing. I said I need something a bit simpler cause of the stroke and the memory side of it so I went on to a different job.

I feel a lot more confident in myself. That made me feel a lot better that somebody was actually being there for me and helping me out and giving me advice which is what they did.

Its really really important from an occupational therapy point of view to ensure that we have a really open, transparent with the individual, with the workplace and with the insurance company to make sure we have a consistent approach and that everybody understands first and foremost Brians needs, challenges and of course his strengths in order to support him in the best possible way.

Rehabilitation support is available to employees insured under Aviva Group Income Protection. It's a non-contractual benefit, which Aviva can change or withdraw at any time. 

For more information on Aviva Group Income Protection, contact your employer, financial adviser or use your usual Aviva contact.

Or visit us online, at aviva.co.uk or search Aviva advisers.

I’m, Alex, and I’m 37 years old, I live in Cornwall with my husband, my little girl, and my little dog Elsa.

I work at an insurance brokers, and I was working there full time, and after I’d been working there a few months, my toes started to go numb.

 

Roll on six weeks later and I’d been waking up every morning and the numbness had been spreading so at that point it was maybe up to the top of my legs. At this point I went to see my GP.

They kind of said I think you’ve got some inflammation in your back; I think it’s a trapped nerve and just sent me away.

And then a couple of weeks after that it all got a bit serious because the numbness had spread up to my waist.

But then they said you need to see a neurologist. And then basically just said that it was anxiety and then sent me home.

Yes, so I took two weeks off and yeah it just kept getting worse. It was at this time that my employer contacted Aviva. 

I was fortunate enough to be covered under a Group Income Protection scheme.

They referred my case to Working To Wellbeing.

Working To Wellbeing is an organisation that supports people with long term conditions to be able to self-manage their condition

And we also support people to return to work when ready.

So it’s really important to be able to provide vocational rehabilitation support to people.

We do make sure to focus on someone’s physical health, mental health, and cognitive health, because we know that they all relate to each other.

What’s important to me is to understand the symptoms she was experiencing, the impact of that diagnosis on her day-to-day life and where work fitted in with the whole scenario.

So I got a really good understanding from that initial call with her about what her needs were.

They were primarily around fatigue and fatigue management, the symptoms she was experiencing around numbness, around the cognitive difficulties she was experiencing. And I started to unpick and understand the relationship between stress and her symptoms and symptom flare up, and what her working situation was. So we get a sense of what’s going on and what to focus on. We set some goals together on what we wanted to focus on and then we started the clinical health coaching work.

Its was the 13^th of the month and I was in bay 13 and the medical consultant said your lumber puncture results have come back and it’s showing that you’ve got oligoclonal bands which is suggestive of you having MS. 

I went back to work after a week just for one day.  I was so, so tired.

It’s a life changing diagnosis multiple sclerosis, knowing that it’s never going to go away, that there is a deterioration, trying to come to terms with all of that, you really do need some kind of emotional support.

Julie was there to support me to talk through kind of how I was feeling about it and to give me some coping mechanisms as well.

In particular I remember her being very good at explaining to me how I needed to pace myself.

So we continued working through different goals that she wanted to achieve and when she was ready we started to think about gearing up for work.

Starting where she was confident and where she felt she had the capability to do it, and we worked closely with her employer to try and enable that process to make it as smooth as possible for everybody. 

At that point the financial support that I’d been getting from my employer ended, and that’s when the claim kicked in with Aviva. 

My husband and I have been able to you know, keep our home, we are not having to worry about food, about bills, it’s given us a lot of reassurance and peace of mind.

I have been able to make sure that I’m eating very good quality food, it’s also meant that I have been able to purchase specialist equipment and clothing such as some special hiking boots that help nerve stimulation

If I hadn’t had the financial support there is no way that I’d have been able to have taken advantage of those things, and they have really, really helped me with my condition.

In Alex’s case by the time that we got to the end of our journey together she was back at work for 12 hours, she was managing that process, she was able to communicate her needs to her line manager and her employer and she was sort of better managing the symptoms of multiple sclerosis as well, so she was managing her fatigue and she was managing the relationship between stress, fatigue and the symptoms that were flaring up for her too.

Aviva have continued to support me throughout that time, and they have been topping up my salary.

The policy, I’ve been blown away by it to be honest. To have a family, to have a life and not have to be worrying about financial stresses.

I never ever in a million years would have thought that I would have needed any cover such as the Group Income Protection cover but obviously, I have, I’m living proof of that. I honestly think that it is the best benefit that my employer could have ever given to his employees. 

If you’re ill, the worst thing that you can have to deal with is to have that financial stress as well, and the Group Income Protection policy has just taken that away and has just allowed me to focus on managing my condition.

The amount we pay depends upon the type of cover, the payment term and the monthly benefit amount chosen.

Good health counts for so much, so if an employee faces a long period off work due to ill-health or injury it can create all sorts of worries.

And for employers, employee absence brings its own challenges.

Our Group income protection claims pathways can help ease the strain for all.

Even before absence occurs, we’re here for you.

Health can start to deteriorate while an employee is still at work, so engage with us early so we can step in and try to avoid absence.

Where time off is needed to help manage symptoms and aid recovery, we’ll support you both, not only during the claims process, but throughout any eventual return to work.

We’ll assign a dedicated case manager to manage all aspects of your claim and aim to confirm payment before the end of the deferred period.

They’ll take information by phone to understand symptoms, treatment pathways and any obstacles which might be preventing a return to work.

There are no forms to complete and our e-signature process makes providing consent quick and easy.

Our pathways are adapted to the employee’s needs and circumstances.

In addition to our general pathway, extra support can be offered to employees with certain conditions.

We may engage one of our rehabilitation partners to further support them clinically, practically or emotionally.

From early intervention, to rehabilitation, your case manager is there every step of the way. To offer the right care, they’re supported by a team of clinical experts, from psychologists to physiotherapists, occupational health nurses to psychiatric nurses and more.

And, they can expand their support to the line manager, HR or occupational health representative.

Rehabilitation support is always considered. And if needed rehabilitative funding may be available.

If the time comes for your employee to return to work, your case manager will work with you both alongside necessary medical professionals to help implement and devise a safe and effective return to work plan.

Engage with us and let us take away some of the strain.

Rehabilitation Support and Early Intervention Services are available to employees insured under Aviva group income protection. They are non-contractual benefits which Aviva can change or withdraw at any time.

For more information please speak to your usual Aviva contact or visit us online.

For more information on Aviva Group Income Protection, contact your employer, Financial Adviser, or your usual Aviva contact.

Or visit us online, at aviva.co.uk or search Aviva advisers. 

I’m Lyndsey, I’m a Claims Case Manager for Group Income Protection here at Aviva.

We get notifications every day from employers looking to make a claim, or receive rehabilitation support for their employees.

Alison’s employer contacted me to let me know that she was struggling at work, due to ongoing symptoms regarding her Stiff Person’s Syndrome diagnosis.

This meant that she was struggling with pain in her upper torso, arms, legs, but also being off work had impacted her mental health, so she was struggling with anxiety and depression.

Alison described her feelings as ‘living in a pit of darkness’. She was really struggling and feeling isolated and alone.

I could see this was a sensitive situation and that Alison needed support straight away.

Alison was really worried understandably that she may lose her job and have to rely on friends or family for support financially. This is where the Group Income Protection policy comes into place.

I obtained Alison’s medical information and referred over to our Consultant Medical Adviser to understand treatment pathways.

She was getting frustrated within the workplace, as she was needing more and more time off, and just wanted to excel within her career.

Her employer were worried that this role was no longer suitable for her, but she really enjoyed her job, and was really eager to be able to stay within the workplace and be able to return to her role at some point.

This is a really tricky situation for both her employer and for Alison to be in.

The stress of the situation, being absent from work, and feeling the frustration of not being able to carry out her role further exacerbated Alison’s symptoms of anxiety and depression.

I became her dedicated case manager. I was Aviva for Alison, from the minute we started talking together, right through the claims process.

We spoke about her claim and any further support we may be able to offer.

As Alison had had previous absences due to her ongoing symptoms associated with Stiff Person’s Syndrome, I was able to piece those absences together to form a deferred period. So I was able to pay her claim sooner rather than later.

The policy meant that she receives 67% of her salary every month, the benefit basis that her employer put into place.

Alison will continue to receive this until she returns to work, or reaches retirement age if she remains medically supported. These payments give her a financial safety net, doing exactly what the policy is designed for. And she was struggling financially before the claim, worrying about how she would pay for her home, or if she would need to ask her family to help her out.

The payments have alleviated her stress, and its allowed her to concentrate on her health and getting better.

Although Alison didn’t want to be filmed herself, she’s happy for me to share her story on her behalf, and she’s allowed us to use a voice actor to share her thoughts.

I am really glad I was given my case manager as she has made such an impact on me personally. She made me feel so comfortable in our first call, I was able to be open and honest with her about my past mental health history.

She was so kind and never lost that human touch - something that you never expect with insurance.

Aviva has given me control over my financial life again and I could not be more grateful.

For more information on Aviva Group Income Protection, contact your employer, financial adviser or usual Aviva contact. Or visit us online at aviva.co.uk or search Aviva advisers.

Hi, my name's Kate Meads, and I'm director of Kate Meads Associates, otherwise known as KMA.

We provide vocational rehabilitation services to customers of Aviva under the Group Income Protection Scheme. 

Aviva will refer employees over to us who are either on long-term sick or at risk of going off sick, and the ultimate goal of what we do is to facilitate somebody returning to work in a sustainable manner. 

It doesn't matter if you've got mental illness, a physical illness, an injury. It is purely looking at, okay, what's this person require to return to work? 

We might be recommending a phased return to work, but prior that it might be we need to do a work preparation program to get the person to the point of being able to return to work.

It could be developing fatigue management skills, building cognitive resilience as well as physical resilience.

And at every step we link in with the employer, so that's HR, maybe the line report or whatever team is around that employee. 

A good example of someone we've worked with is, a man called Simon.

He was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Not only did he have multiple sclerosis, he had social issues in terms of his wife was very poorly and complexities of home life as well.

What we did with him was to empower him, to identify what his needs were, what needed to be different at work.

During the process of working with us, he developed another lesion, which impacted on his function. And for him, there was that fear that he was not going to be able to get back to work. He felt that he was doing things wrong. 

And what we could do is actually then identify pacing strategies to do, ways in which he could build his physical stamina up. Encourage him to think about different ways of working.

We would set him tasks each week after each session. He would let us know how he was going. And then it was also linking in with, key stakeholders in the workplace to support him.

He resumed his full time working and his roles and responsibilities.

He is willing to share his feedback.

I was never in a position where I did not want to be at work. I wanted to be of value, but I lost my way.

I knew I needed to do things differently, but I didn’t know how, I just needed someone to guide me through it. 

Kate’s support has been invaluable in helping me get into the right headspace. I found the whole process very easy, and it all happened quite naturally.

Aviva recognised I wanted to work and were able to support with that.

Vocational rehabilitation services are non-contractual benefits Aviva can change or withdraw at any time.

For more information on Aviva Group Income Protection and these services, contact your employer, financial adviser or your usual Aviva contact or visit us online, at aviva.co.uk or search Aviva advisers.