The Value Of Additional Services
Whilst clearly the overall value of any policy is the peace of mind and protection it provides in the event of a claim occurring, this can sometimes seem slightly abstract to people. Clients may ultimately feel that paying a monthly premium for little more than the promise of a pay out, in the event of something happening to them (that they deem unlikely) isn’t worth the cost.
Increasingly though, protection policies provide so much more and can offer clients a range tangible every day benefits that they are more likely to use and that can provide very real value, particularly if they’re facing financial challenges elsewhere.
Additional support benefit such as virtual GPs, second medical opinions and physical wellbeing services are a valuable extra included on many protection plans and in some cases, insurers extend access to the client’s spouse, partner or children. With services such as GPs or mental wellbeing support often difficult to access through the NHS and costly to use privately, the extension of these benefits to the client’s family can be extremely helpful and valuable.
Below, we look at the Additional Services offered by Guardian.
HALO
EVERY CLAIMANT’S SITUATION IS UNIQUE – For this reason, Guardian don’t simply offer a defined list of support services. Instead, their claims team listen, and work with their professional partners to put in place a tailored support package for the claimant and their immediate family, which in most cases, is made available at no additional cost.
SUPPORT – The support made available could include specialist medical consultations, rehabilitation treatments, counselling, legal and financial advice, and more.
HALO SERVICES – the exact services made available to each claimant will depend on their situation. However, the following examples show the breadth of support accessible by HALO: Second medical opinion from a UK Consultant, Specialist therapy for neurological conditions, Support with home, family and childcare issues, Finding a solicitor to handle probate, Bereavement counselling, Nursing support following diagnosis and treatment, Estate planning following a terminal illness diagnosis, Counselling to help families cope with serious illness, Therapies to ease the consequences of treatments.
THE EXPERTS BEHIND HALO – To ensure Guardian take the best care of policyholders, they have partnered with specialist care providers such as Krysalis (who provide specialist therapy and support for claimants diagnosed with a neurological condition. This could include Parkinson’s disease, Motor Neurone Disease, a stroke, or an injury to the brain, spine or central nervous system), RedArc (who provide specialist nurses who give claimants and their families practical advice and emotional support to help them cope with the impact of illness, disability, trauma and bereavement. The service also provides face-to-face second medical opinions and access to alternative therapies and counselling) and Legacare (who provide personalised legal advice and continued support for claimants. They can advise on a range of complex issues faced by bereaved families and critically ill policyholders including care planning, estate and tax planning, powers of attorney, wills and financial matters).
ANYTIME
GP 24/7 – The Anytime GP service is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. This means policyholders can receive unlimited advice, reassurance and, where appropriate, diagnosis from wherever they are in the world. Policyholders can simply call the Anytime service team and select a suitable time and day to talk to a GP by either video or phone. All partnered GPs are practicing doctors with the same qualifications as your NHS GP. Patients also benefit from: Open private referrals (if a patient needs further investigation or treatment, the GP will issue an open private referral letter to ensure they get access to the health care they need from a Consultant with the stated specialty – referrals are for private use only and may not be accepted for services provided by state-funded healthcare), Private prescriptions (where necessary, GPs can issue private prescriptions where the medication can either be collected from a nominated pharmacy or delivered to any UK address. If you qualify for free NHS prescriptions you’ll still have to pay for a private prescription. For medication delivery there is a separate charge for postage and packaging).
SECOND MEDICAL OPINION – Anyone diagnosed with a serious illness faces a worrying time and a range of emotions, concerns and questions. Guardian Anytime offers a confidential, face-to-face second medical opinion to policyholders if they’re diagnosed with a life-changing or life-threatening condition. If the policyholder has Children’s Critical Illness Protection, all their eligible children are covered too. The service is designed to give policyholders a second medical opinion when they’ve already received a diagnosis from their treating UK Consultant. The specialist they’re referred to can also help make treatment choices and answer any questions or doubts the policyholder may have about their existing Consultant’s recommendations. The second opinion will be provided by a UK-based Consultant and come with the ongoing support of a personal nurse adviser.
WELLBEING CONSULTATIONS – 30-minute phone emotional wellbeing consultations to help policyholders cope effectively with life’s challenges. Guardian’s emotional wellbeing consultations are designed to help policyholders cope with these difficult times, and help them proactively manage their mental health to help prevent their condition from becoming more serious.
ACHES AND PAINS CONSULTATIONS – 30-minute phone consultations to help policyholders alleviate and prevent suffering from general aches and pains.
As with all insurance policies, conditions and exclusions will apply