Value Added Services – Everything you need to know
In reading this article you will understand:
- Granular detail about a range of popular Added Value Services that providers offer and how providers compare
- What products each service is offer on
- How such services are provided
- Restrictions that apply
- Which providers our independent analysis shows to have the strongest offerings
The protection plans your clients buy are there to provide financial security should the worst happen, whether that’s death, a critical illness or a loss of earnings through accident or illness. These are the risks the clients want to cover and the plans are designed to do just that. But today’s plans offer clients so much more than just a claim payout for the insured event. They come with an array of available features really can make them ‘fully comprehensive’, offering services that can help support clients and their families throughout the life of the plan. This weeks’ Everything you need to know takes a detailed look at the added value benefits that providers offer.
Access to GP services
It can be difficult for clients to get a GP appointment that doesn’t involve a long wait at the best of times, but Covid-19 has taken this to a new level. With the country in lockdown again and a vaccination programme prioritising many GP’s time, getting an appointment can be even more difficult. Being able to bypass all that and speak to a medical professional from the comfort of their own home by phone or video call, if not face-to-face, has many advantages for clients.
Second Medical Opinions
Many clients will have more faith in a diagnosis or course of treatment if more than one medical professional comes to that same conclusion independently of each other. The reassurance of a ‘second pair of eyes’ can be enormous at an already difficult time. This is why the second medical opinion services that some insurers offer on their protection plans are such a valuable service to clients and it will help advisers to know who offers what.
Mental Health Support
In these difficult times, when normal life and interaction seem so far away, ever increasing numbers of people may be facing mental health challenges this year. For those that do, access such support through normal NHS channels can be a long and hard road. But your protection clients are not without support as many providers offer a wide range of mental health support.
Nutritional Support
We’re all familiar these days with the benefits of good nutrition as part of a healthy lifestyle. Putting the right and best ‘fuel in the tank’ is the start point to a healthier lifestyle and the services offered by a nutritionist can help us all understand things more clearly. Providers are increasingly offering access to a nutritionist as an added value service across their protection products, but certain features are more commonly found than others.
Fitness Services
Regular exercise can help reduce the risk of major illnesses such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes and cancer by up to 50% and even lower the risk of death by 30%, as well as being good for mental health. A lot of sense for such plans to encourage clients to lead a healthier lifestyle and provide access to fitness services, not just for the client but their family too.
Watch out for future “Everything you need to know” pieces where each week we will cover a different topic and provide you with the information you need to know to discuss the topics with your clients.
Things to reflect on for CPD:
- What are the top 5 things you have learnt from this article?
- How will you be able to use them with your clients to offer better information on Added Value Benefits?
- What Added Value Service not currently offered would be a useful product development?
