Optimum

You can find our target market statement here.

Whilst any business can benefit from offering a pro-active benefits package, Group PMI policies are a common purchase in the following sectors:

• Manufacturing
• Professional services
• Motor vehicle trade
• Engineering

One reason for this is that the impact of sickness absence can be felt much more in industries requiring professionals with specific skill sets. Asking yourself the following questions could provide a good starting point:

• Are your offices near to local businesses?
• Are you networking with key decision makers?
• Could you run a seminar that introduces PMI to potential clients?

Clients with 250 or more employees are likely to have a first-hand understanding of the dramatic impact that illness or injury can have on their workforce.

Here are some of the most common objections we hear, along with some ideas to help you overcome each objection:

“It’s too expensive.”

Optimum is a bespoke product designed to be extremely flexible in the benefits and costs associated with cover. Working closely with our Account Managers, you’ll create a bespoke proposition that meets your clients’ budgets.

Ultimately, without PMI in place, employees may have to wait for NHS treatment, which can affect the overall productivity of your client’s business.

“We don’t need a PMI policy for our employees.”

A group PMI policy can help reduce the costs of ill health in the workplace. It means your client could offer a more attractive employment package than their competitors, helping them recruit and retain valuable employees.

Our knowledge of the market helps employees get access to private medical care and appropriate treatments which could help enable a quicker return to work following illness or injury. 

“PMI is not our top priority”

Knowing your clients as you do, you’ll have an insight of their plans for the future – expansion, perhaps, or specialisation in a particular market. Good health among employees, and ways to keep absence-related costs to a minimum, can play a key role in a business’s economic future.

“We already have a policy in place…”

That’s excellent news. It demonstrates that your clients have understood the value of providing PMI for their employees.

We’re happy to offer a consultation process, which may show cost savings and enhanced benefits to the business.

Our National Accounts managers are on hand to answer questions in person for Optimum clients. This gives you an exceptional level of support from a provider – but we recognise that it’s also important to show your own detailed insights.

Here are a few of the questions we’re asked regularly.

“What’s the difference between acute conditions and chronic conditions?”

An acute condition is a disease, illness or injury that’s likely to respond quickly to treatment so that the individual can return to their previous level of health.

Chronic conditions are those illnesses, diseases or injuries that either continue indefinitely, have no known cure, come back (or are likely to come back), need long term monitoring or need on-going control or relief of symptoms, such as diabetes or Crohn’s disease.

Our standard offering does not provide cover for chronic conditions, including:

• regular planned check-ups for a chronic condition where the employee is likely to need treatment
• expected deterioration of a chronic condition which needs regular consultations, diagnostic tests or treatment from a specialist.

BUT: We do cover unexpected acute flare-ups of a chronic condition until the condition is re-stabilised (this does not apply to chronic mental health conditions).

Acute flare-ups are sudden and severe worsening of symptoms associated with a chronic condition. People will experience these symptoms individually and sometimes regularly. If the employee has rarely experienced these symptoms or the symptoms aren't common for their condition we would consider this as an "unexpected" acute flare-up. We won't cover repeated acute flares-ups that are expected for the employees condition.

“What are hospital lists?”

Your clients can choose a selection of hospitals where they’d like employees to receive treatment. They do this by selecting one of the following ‘lists’ of facilities.

• Key hospital list – this provides access to a nationwide network of over 200 private hospitals
• Extended hospital list – it's the same as the Key hospital list but contains more hospitals around the central London area.

Use our online Hospital List Checker to show clients the facilities available in their area.

“What’s the difference between an in-patient, out-patient and day-patient?”

An in-patient is someone who is admitted to hospital and who occupies a bed overnight, or longer, for medical reasons.

As a day-patient, employees would be admitted to a hospital or day-patient unit because they need a period of medically supervised recovery but would not occupy a bed overnight.

An out-patient is someone who attends a hospital, consulting room or out-patient clinic and is not admitted, either as a day-patient or

in-patient.

“Which type of underwriting would my client have to use?”

We’ll work with you and your client to find the most efficient and effective way of underwriting cover – whether it’s a new policy, or a transfer from another provider.

For more details about our wide range of underwriting choices, look at the Additional Services tab on this page.

We can provide dedicated support to help you introduce the benefits of our Optimum product. Our Account Managers will be happy to go with you to see your clients.

Call: 0800 0014 272 Monday to Friday 9.00am – 5.00pm or email hcnd@aviva.com. Calls may be monitored and/or recorded.

We’re here to offer you support with your clients, deal with any queries, and give you information that will help companies with 250 or more employees proceed with confidence as they buy an Optimum policy.