Aviva today announced a number of enhancements to its Group Risk products, including Lump Sum and Pay Direct options on its Group Income Protection and increased Free Cover Limits on its Group Life policies. These enhancements further improve the benefit flexibility and choice available from Aviva’s Group Risk, making it one of the most comprehensive offerings in the market.
With immediate effect, Aviva has increased the Free Cover Limit formula on its existing and new Group Life policies from £15,000 to £20,000 multiplied by the number of lives in a scheme, subject to a maximum of £1.25 million. Aviva has also increased the maximum Free Cover Limit from £1.25 million to £1.5 million for schemes covering 500-2,999 lives, and to £1.75 million for schemes covering 3,000 lives or more. The increased limits, applicable for all new business and renewals from 1 January 2010, mean that Aviva now offers some of the most generous Group Life terms in the market.
In recognition of the increased mobility in today’s job market, and the need for companies to control the costs associated with long-term sickness absence, Aviva has also introduced the following benefit options to its Group Income Protection product:
- Lump Sum option – rather than covering employees until retirement age, employers taking out a unit-rated Group Income Protection scheme can choose a two, three, four or five year limited term followed by a lump sum payment of one, two, three, four or five times salary, or up to nine times the annual income benefit (up to £1 million per life).
A Lump Sum option helps employers control the cost of their Group Income Protection scheme, whilst still offering employees the rehabilitation support available on a standard Group Income Protection policy. In the event that the employee is unable to return to work at the end of the chosen term, the Lump Sum benefit paid to the employer can help fund early retirement or could be used to cover the cost of recruiting a replacement.
- Pay Direct option – where an employee is unable to return to work as a result of long-term illness and is removed from the payroll, the employer can choose for their Group Income Protection benefit to be paid direct to the employee.
This option means that there is no obligation for the employer to keep the employee on their payroll in order to receive benefits, whilst also giving them the peace of mind that their former employee will continue to receive regular benefit payments for the duration of the Group Income Protection contract.
The new benefits follow the introduction of Once Only Underwriting, tele-interviews for medical underwriting, a bereavement helpline and improved Free Cover and Maximum Benefit limits in 2009, demonstrating Aviva’s on-going commitment to the Group Risk Market.
Steve Bridger, head of group risk, Aviva UK Health said: “With the workplace changing at an ever increasing pace, we’re committed to ensuring that we offer our customers market leading products that respond to their changing needs, both in terms of financial protection and employee rehabilitation.
”Group Risk continues to be a main focus for Aviva, and these enhancements are the first of many to be introduced in 2010 to enable us to continue to offer our customers appropriate products that represent great value for money, and further cement our position as a key player in the Group Risk market.”
