Project Teddy – How aviva have been supporting the children of clients

Having to claim on a critical illness policy must be hard at any time. If the claim is due to a condition that your child is suffering then one can only imagine the anguish the parent is going through. If your child is in pain, just being able to see them smile, if only for a little while, would make a massive difference. Whilst the money received from a critical illness policy in such circumstances will always be gratefully received it is often the little and unexpected touches that make a real difference. Aviva’s Project Teddy initiative was designed for this exact reason and in this article we take a look at how this has given a short but welcome distraction to many families over the last year.

It was in June last year when launching their 2020 claims statistics that Aviva first discussed Project Teddy with the industry. The term is widely used within the Aviva claims team and relates to child related claims where Aviva have the aim of:

“Working out how we (Aviva) go the extra mile for our customers and how can we brighten their child’s day. The whole family is affected when a child is seriously ill, so we (Aviva) want to be there for everyone.”

In order to fulfil this aim, the Aviva claims team look to capture more than just the diagnosis and treatment when they are notified of a child claim. Like all insurers they will signpost the claimant to any relevant additional support they can offer, however they will also ask questions about the child themselves and the family situation as a whole. In doing so the claims team can build a better picture of the child’s likes and dislikes and how the situation they find themselves in may be impacting the parents and any siblings. Based on these conversations, they will also look to provide each family member with an additional gift. Such small gifts are often not what a claimant would expect but may bring some small respite and joy at what will be a very difficult time for the family as a whole.

Throughout the last year, Aviva have managed to provide 94 gifts to the children of policyholders. The ages of the children have ranged from a few weeks old all the way up to students in their early 20’s.

The gifts Aviva have provided have been wide ranging as well. Whilst for younger children a cuddly toy is the popular choice, Lego is overall most popular whereas for older children, vouchers are often selected.

It is however important that Aviva understand the likes and dislikes of the specific child they might be sending a gift to and in doing so they often come across specific things that they might be able to provide to, in some small way, brighten the child’s day

Of course it may not always be suitable for a gift to be sent to a child and Aviva need to be acutely aware that some of the children (or even members of their family) are suffering from a serious illness and might be in the extremely clinically vulnerable group. In such scenarios, Aviva will look to keep an ongoing dialogue with the parents to see what, if anything, would be appropriate.

Each gift in their own way will hopefully provide a moment of joy (or at least a moment of distraction) for the child they are given to. They highlight to the parents  that Aviva care enough to take the time to understand that child and their sometimes unique likes. Throughout the year Aviva have received handwritten notes of thanks, photos of children with their new toys and one child even made them a stop motion film with the Lego set sent to him to say thank you.

Initiatives like this can make a massive difference to a claimant and shows them that they are more than just a number, but a valued customer who Aviva want to support when things turn bad. We applaud Aviva for taking the time to go above and beyond what might be expected of them and encourage all insurers to think about what more they could do to support their customers.

To view Aviva’s full claims report, click here