Supporting your SME clients

Financial and emotional support should the worst happen 

• When an employee dies, Group Life cover provides some financial support by making claim payments to the trustees, or directly to the beneficiaries. For Registered schemes, lump sums payable are normally tax-free up to the member’s Lifetime Allowance (LTA). For Excepted schemes, these are also usually tax-free and do not count towards a member’s LTA
• Easy to set up - you can create a quote for your clients in as little as 20 minutes. If it's an Excepted policy or a Master Trust Registered or Excepted policy then the policy can go on risk the next day
• Master Trust option at no additional cost for Registered and Excepted schemes
• Flexible cover – different levels of cover can be chosen with our policy, grouping employees by multiples of salary or lump-sum limits 

Find out more about Group Life Cover

A range of wellbeing services to support employees: 

• The Aviva DigiCare+ Workplace app offers five key services to help insured employees detect, manage and prevent physical and mental health problems. These are an Annual Health Check, Digital GP, Second Medical Opinion , Mental Health Consultations, Nutritional Consultations. The app is provided by Square Health. There may be limits to the number of times employees can use each service, they can check their full allowances within the app. 
• Free and discounted legal services to give employees peace of mind, knowing they’ve got life’s essentials in order and to help them plan ahead. Provided by Red Apple Law. Available to insured and uninsured employees and their spouse or partner.
• Access to stress counselling so your clients' insured employees can talk to trained counsellors about issues they feel are causing them stress. Provided by Care first.
• Bereavement support from qualified counsellors to help your clients' insured employees deal with grief. Provided by Care first.
• Discounts on health and fitness clubs across the UK, as well as offers on products and services that can support a healthy lifestyle, via Get Active. Available to insured employees. 
• The Aviva Line Manager Toolkit: Mental Health offers bite-sized videos to help your clients' line managers identify signs and symptoms of poor mental wellbeing among team members, both in the physical and remote work environment. Available to insured and uninsured line managers. 
• Aviva Mental Health Videos to help employees manage their mental wellbeing whether they're insured on the policy or not. Our suite of ten videos cover topics from mental health awareness to stress and resilience.
• The Wellbeing Library is an online library of useful content, hints and tips - including guides and tools - and is available to your clients’ employees whether they're insured on the policy or not. They'll find sections offering helpful support on all kinds of situations.
• Grief Encounter is  a charity we may signpost to, which works closely with children who have lost a parent or sibling to support them through their grief.
• Dedicated Employer and Employee Hubs providing a one-stop-shop for what’s on offer. Information about our Group Life cover, what’s included and how to make a claim, can be found on the hubs. On the employer hub, clients will also find materials to help launch the services to insured and uninsured employees.
• Wellbeing Training supports employee health as part of an overall wellbeing strategy. We’ve partnered with our suppliers to deliver a broad range of topics. And all the training can be tailored to meet the specific needs of your clients' businesses.
• Aviva Cancer Care Support helps your clients understand more about managing cancer in the workplace. We've worked with Macmillan Cancer Support to put together a guide that highlights different areas they need to think about. It covers topics from understanding cancer to how it may affect someone at work, from talking about cancer in the workplace to supporting employees caring for others with cancer, and much more.

These services are non-contractual benefits Aviva can change or withdraw at any time. This does not apply to Grief Encounter, which is a charity anyone can access. Terms may apply to wellbeing services. For Red Apple Law services residency restrictions apply, for full details please visit redapplelaw-gla.toolboxx.co.uk/faqs. For all other services, residency restrictions may apply. 

Visit our Group Life wellbeing services page to find out more.

Supporting your SME clients to reduce long-term sickness absence

• Flexible policy design - we offer a range of benefit levels and payment terms, designed to meet the needs and budgets of individual businesses
• We’ll cover a percentage of your employees’ gross taxable earnings if they are absent from work long term due to illness or injury. The maximum benefit you can choose is 80% of gross taxable earnings up to a maximum £425,000
• We can cover employer’s pension scheme contributions either for fixed amounts, or based on a percentage of pensionable salary, up to a maximum annual amount of £75,000. The employers’ national insurance contributions can also be insured.
• Early intervention services from experienced SME teams. For your clients who may not have an internal HR or wellbeing team, this can help prevent a small problem becoming something bigger 
• Expert claims pathways to help make the process as smooth as possible. We make it quick and easy for employees when we assess claims, taking information by phone and using digital signatures to gather consent, meaning there are no forms to complete
• Rehabilitation services designed to get the right support for your clients and their employees. The sooner we can help your clients' employees, the sooner they can begin their recovery - our early intervention and rehabilitation services are designed to help them remain at work, or make a successful return to work when the time is right. 

Find out more about Group Income Protection

A range of wellbeing services to support employees:

• The Aviva DigiCare+ Workplace app offers five key services to help insured employees detect, manage and prevent physical and mental health problems. These are an Annual Health Check, Digital GP, Second Medical Opinion , Mental Health Consultations, Nutritional Consultations. The app is provided by Square Health. There may be limits to the number of times employees can use each service, they can check their full allowances within the app. 
• In-the-moment support with a 24/7 helpline via the Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) . Provided by Care first, the EAP provides all of your clients' employees with access to qualified counsellors for them to talk to about any personal issues they may have.
• A confidential mental wellbeing app, Thrive Mental Wellbeing provides all employees with effective, evidence-based tools to improve their mental health.
• The Aviva Line Manager Toolkit: Mental Health offers bite-sized videos to help your clients' line managers identify signs and symptoms of poor mental wellbeing among team members, both in the physical and remote work environment. Available to insured and uninsured line managers.
• Aviva Mental Health Videos to help employees manage their mental wellbeing whether they're insured on the policy or not. Our suite of ten videos cover topics from mental health awareness to stress and resilience.
• Discounts on health and fitness clubs across the UK, as well as offers on products and services that can support a healthy lifestyle, via Get Active. Available to insured employees. 
• The Wellbeing Library is an online library of useful content, hints and tips - including guides and tools and is available to your clients’ insured and uninsured employees. They'll find sections offering helpful support on all kinds of situations.
• Dedicated Employer and Employee Hubs providing a one-stop-shop for what’s on offer. Information about our Group Income Protection cover, what’s included and how to make a claim, can be found on the hubs. On the employer hub, clients will also find materials to help launch the services to insured and uninsured employees.
• Wellbeing Training supports employee health as part of an overall wellbeing strategy. We’ve partnered with our suppliers to deliver a broad range of topics. And all the training can be tailored to meet the specific needs of your clients' businesses.
• Aviva Cancer Care Support helps your clients understand more about managing cancer in the workplace. We've worked with Macmillan Cancer Support to put together a guide that highlights different areas they need to think about. It covers topics from understanding cancer to how it may affect someone at work, from talking about cancer in the workplace to supporting employees caring for others with cancer, and much more.
  

These services are non-contractual benefits Aviva can change or withdraw at any time. Residency restrictions and terms may apply. 

Visit our Group Income Protection wellbeing services page to find out more.

Financial reassurance when it’s needed most

• We will pay a lump sum benefit of up to five times salary (to a maximum of £500,000) to the employee if they are diagnosed with one of the critical illnesses or undergoes one of the operations which the policy covers, and they survive for 14 days after the date of the diagnosis or operation
• Automatic children's cover at 25% of the member's benefit (up to £20,000)
• Choice between standard cover and extended cover, which includes more conditions.
• Cancer drugs fund option, which pays the cost of drugs recommended by an NHS specialist up to £100,000 if their recommendation is rejected by the local commissioning body on financial grounds
• Total Permanent Disability (TPD) cover option allows your clients to protect their employees even if they're diagnosed as totally and permanently disabled
• Option to extend cover to protect employees' partners, up to £250,000

Find out more about our Group Critical Illness cover.

A range of wellbeing services to support employees:

• The Aviva DigiCare+ Workplace app offers five key services to help insured employees detect, manage and prevent physical and mental health problems. These are an Annual Health Check, Digital GP, Second Medical Opinion , Mental Health Consultations, Nutritional Consultations. The app is provided by Square Health. There may be limits to the number of times employees can use each service, they can check their full allowances within the app.
• Access to stress counselling so your clients' insured employees can talk to trained counsellors about issues they feel are causing them stress. Provided by Care first.
• A dedicated personal nurse should they make a claim. The RedArc Personal Nurse service offers employees and their families long-term practical advice and emotional support from the same nurse. The Nurse can help in many ways including helping the individual understand the health condition and all its implications, talking through worries or concerns, discussing surgery or treatment options, dealing with the many implications of the illness. A course of therapy, counselling or other relevant service can also be provided subject to clinical assessment. There is no limit to the amount and duration of calls from the Nurse.
• Discounts on health and fitness clubs across the UK, as well as offers on products and services that can support a healthy lifestyle, via Get Active. Available to insured employees. 
• The Aviva Line Manager Toolkit: Mental Health offers bite-sized videos to help your clients' line managers identify signs and symptoms of poor mental wellbeing among team members, both in the physical and remote work environment. Available to insured and uninsured line managers.
• Aviva Mental Health Videos to help employees manage their mental wellbeing whether they're insured on the policy or not. Our suite of ten videos cover topics from mental health awareness to stress and resilience.
• The Wellbeing Library is an online library of useful content, hints and tips - including guides and tools and is available to your clients’ insured and uninsured employees. They'll find sections offering helpful support on all kinds of situations.
• Dedicated Employer and Employee Hubs providing a one-stop-shop for what’s on offer. Information about our Group Critical Illness cover, what’s included and how to make a claim, can be found on the hubs. On the employer hub, clients will also find materials to help launch the services to insured and uninsured employees.
• Wellbeing Training supports employee health as part of an overall wellbeing strategy. We’ve partnered with our suppliers to deliver a broad range of topics. And all the training can be tailored to meet the specific needs of your clients' businesses.
• Aviva Cancer Care Support helps your clients understand more about managing cancer in the workplace. We've worked with Macmillan Cancer Support to put together a guide that highlights different areas they need to think about. It covers topics from understanding cancer to how it may affect someone at work, from talking about cancer in the workplace to supporting employees caring for others with cancer, and much more.

These services are non-contractual benefits Aviva can change or withdraw at any time. Residency restrictions and terms may apply. 

Visit our Group Critical Illness wellbeing services page to find out more.

We've made it easy for your clients to make a claim 
 

Making a Group Life claim

It’s quick and easy to make a Group Life claim – and there’s usually no need to send us the original death certificate. Simply ask your client to complete the online claims form.

For Master Trust policyholders, please ask your client to send an email to grouplifeclaims@aviva.com

 

Making a Group Income Protection claim

We need to know if an employee is off sick for four weeks or more.

You or your client can do this by calling us on 0800 142 2377. Lines are open Monday - Friday 8.30am-5.00pm. 

Group Income Protection claims can also be started using our online claims form.  

You may need to start the claim on behalf of your client. Or your client can start the claim using our online employer claims form.

 

Making a Group Critical Illness claim

A claim for Group Critical Illness can be made by an employer or an employee. We need to know about the illness or operation within three months of diagnosis.

They can call us on 0800 015 7523 or use our online claims form. Lines are open 8.30am-5.00pm.

There are two online claims forms. One for claims made for employees and another for claims made for a partner or child. 

Quarterly wellbeing webinars for SMEs  

To help complement your clients' wellbeing strategy, we offer quartlerly wellbeing training sessions to your Group Protection clients with less than 250 lives insured with us. 

These sessions are available for line managers and employees of all levels and experience to help improve their approach and understanding of mental health in the workplace. Delivered by our in-house mental health expert, we offer three different courses: 

• HR and Line Manager Mental Health Training - a 2.5 hour session for line managers and HR professionals to better understand common mental health conditions and how to support their teams 
• Mental Health Awareness - suitable for all employees, this one hour session provides an introduction to common mental health conditions and how they may present in the workplace and help remove the stigma that is sometimes attached 
• Stress and Resilience - this interactive one hour session introduces simple techniques to help employees of all levels cope with the stresses of life

To find out the next available session please speak with your usual Aviva contact or email us. You can also take a look at our Webinar Hub here where you can book upcoming webinars and watch previous webinars on demand. 

Today’s economic environment can be challenging. However, many business owners will welcome an opportunity to gain competitive advantage in the recruitment and retention landscape and support the financial, physical and mental wellbeing of their employees. Offering employees more than just a salary is a great way for businesses to show they value their staff and help reduce absenteeism. 

Here are some of the common objections you’ll hear if you make an approach about Group Protection and some guidance to help overcome them.

 

“My company has PMI – I don’t need Group Protection”

Group Protection provides financial support in difficult times for employees and their loved ones. While Private Medical Insurance can give them the fast and efficient care they need, Group Protection can help relieve some of the financial strain for employees who are unable to work due to an illness or injury, or to support loved ones should an employee pass away in service.

 

“It’s too expensive, we can’t afford it”

Investing in Group Protection may be cheaper than they think. Some policies can start from less than 1% of payroll and with the wellbeing benefits included, they can save on other costs too. For example, our DigiCare+ Workplace app provides Digital GP appointments at no additional cost and is available with all our Group Protection products.

Not only that, our wellbeing benefits are designed to help employees live a happier, healthier and fitter lifestyle. In turn, that could lead to business benefits such as increased employee engagement, better staff retention levels, improved productivity, and reduced absenteeism. 

 

“It’s too much hassle to set up”

For schemes between 3-250 lives, a quote can be gained in as little as 20 minutes via our online platform, with the option to buy once reviewed, enabling your client to go on risk the next day, should they wish. When they’re happy with their quote, all they need to do it sign the application form and continue to pay their premiums.

 

“No, I still can’t see the point.”

A Group Protection policy is an expense that some business clients may find hard to value while their employees are all fit and healthy. However, it’s worth highlighting that post pandemic many are more aware of their physical and mental health. As an employer, investing in Group Protection can be a valuable step towards supporting employees and their business for the future.