UK: Healthier Solutions Changes Provide Even Better Value and Choice

Customers of Aviva’s individual private health insurance cover, Healthier Solutions, will benefit from the introduction of a range of additional benefits and options to their cover from 1 January 2013. The changes will further secure Healthier Solutions’ position as one of the most flexible, affordable and comprehensive products in the market.

Each individual member of a Healthier Solutions policy will now earn their own No Claim Discount (NCD), rather than the NCD being applied to the policy itself. This means that if one family member makes a claim, it doesn’t affect the No Claim Discount of other members of the policy.

Each member will now also have a personal NCD allowance of £250 per policy year, allowing them to claim up to this amount for new claims without changing their NCD status1.

Significantly, customers can now also choose to reduce their premiums by a sizeable 40% by choosing a £0 option for out-patient cover. As with the existing £500 and £1,000 reduced out-patient cover options, the new £0 out-patient limit does not apply to out-patient treatment for cancer and customers choosing any of these options will still have access to full cover for out-patient radiotherapy and chemotherapy treatment, and CT, MRI and PET scans at recognised diagnostic centres.

The changes also see increases in cover including £100 per procedure for minor GP surgery (rising from £70 per procedure), and pre-admission tests needed before a stay in hospital will now be covered in full and will not be taken from any out-patient limit.

And in recognition of the rise in mental health illness throughout the UK, Aviva has improved its psychiatric cover on Healthier Solutions by doubling the out-patient limit within core cover to £2,000 per person per policy year2.

Parents who cover their children on a Healthier Solutions policy will also be able to claim for two sessions of speech therapy per child, per policy year.

Nicola Graham, head of commercial and proposition development at Aviva Health, said: “We’re continually adapting Healthier Solutions to keep up-to-date with medical advances and provide customers with improved cover, in particular in the clinical areas that we know our customers are increasingly requiring treatment, such as talking therapies and psychiatric care.

“Healthier Solutions customers can really personalise their level of cover to suit their needs and their budget, and the introduction of the £0 out-patient cover option allows greater choice and will make private medical insurance more affordable for more customers.”

The enhancements to Healthier Solutions will be effective from 1 January 2013 and will apply to existing customers from their next renewal on or after this date. The changes will also include clearer policy terms to help customers understand what they are covered for.

In addition to flexible medical treatment and diagnostic cover, Healthier Solutions provides customers with a range of additional benefits to help manage and improve their health. Customers have access to a 24-hour GP Helpline and Stress Counselling Helpline, and discount gym memberships through Get Active. MyHealthCounts, an online health management system, offers tips to help customers lead a healthier lifestyle and rewards those who demonstrate a good health status with up to 15% off their renewal premium.

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Notes to editors:

-On Healthier Solutions, there will be a £250 NCD allowance per person, per policy year. For those customers with an excess on their policy, the allowance is applied after any excess has been paid.
-The £2,000 psychiatric out-patient treatment limit applies to core cover. If a reduced out-patient option is chosen, this will reduce the out-patient psychiatric cover.

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