I found Aviva to be honest and they really do understand that each customer is unique.

Michael Scragg

I switched to this plan and now pay less for better cover.

Jean Gouldthorpe, Crawley

In this section...

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Unique health insurance for you

As a Club Together member your collective purchasing power enables us to negotiate some great value deals for you, on the things that are important as you get older. With the cost of living increasing fast, searching out better value is becoming essential, so this is a budget friendly offer that lets you pick the benefits you really want.

Big savings on private health insurance
By joining forces with Aviva UK Health, Aviva can offer you savings on their private health insurance. We’ve negotiated an exclusive no claim discount of up to 72%¹ just for Club Together members, from day one of the plan, so it really could save you money compared to the 66% maximum that’s on offer if you go direct to Aviva.

Health insurance that cares for you and your budget
As you get older, your health may well need extra care. Aviva’s private medical cover means you shouldn’t have to wait for hospital treatment and you’ll get seen quickly at a time that suits you by an Aviva recommended consultant.

It's very flexible too, because you just pay for what you want and if you want to top that up, you can simply choose to add on additional options for an additional cost, picking the options you like, so you get exactly the cover you want, at a price you can afford.

What do you want to do now?

Important information
1 No claim discount of up to 72% will be applied to your premium in the first year.
The premium and no claim discount will be reviewed each year your policy renews.

Member's review

Before we introduce an offer to our members, we like to be sure it’s the kind of thing they may want and that they benefit from the discounts that we can negotiate. Club Together panel member Michael Scragg from
the telent pension scheme visited Katie Cox, Business Manager of Aviva UK Health to ask some challenging questions about the private health insurance they’re inviting Club Together members to take out.

Michael’s mission:
To get answers to the kind of questions our members would ask.

Michael: What’s Aviva UK’s Health position in the UK marketplace?
Katie: We’re third in the marketplace with 11% market share and we were voted Health Insurance Company of
the Year at the 2010 Health Insurance Awards. Aviva UK Health is part of Aviva, which is the largest insurer in the UK and the sixth largest in the world.

Michael: How does your private health insurance work?
Katie: If you have a health problem, you go to see your GP initially. If they think you need a specialist that’s where your cover comes into play. We ask people to phone us before seeing a specialist, so they know what cover is available to them. Over 90% of claims are assessed over the telephone. From then on, so long as
the claim has been accepted and subject to the specific terms and conditions of the policy, you’ll have peace of
mind that the bills will go straight to Aviva.

Michael: How is your offer better than other providers’ for Club Together members? Why Aviva?
Katie: As well as the exclusive no claims discount of up to 72%¹ we’re offering Club Together members, there are lots of other reasons to choose us. We offer extra reassurance if you need medical advice, because we’ve got clinical experts with a health background, in cancer, mental health and women’s health for example – so when you call, you get to speak to someone who knows your condition. And, of course, we were voted Health Insurance Company of the Year in the 2010 Health Insurance Awards. You could actually receive a discount on your renewal premium if you lead a healthy lifestyle with our MyHealthCounts online service, which gives a health assessment, hints and tips on improving your health. You’ll get a magazine twice a year with hints and tips for healthy living to back that up.

Michael: I’ve spent hours in queues to see specialists. Are investigations covered – even if they lead to no further action?
Katie: Definitely. Our private health insurance is there to cover scans, x-rays, consultations for example to find out what the matter is and as long as it’s eligible treatment we’ll cover that. There are some additional treatments that are optional and they will incur additional costs. It’s so stressful not knowing what’s wrong, and this policy gives you the peace of mind, being seen more promptly.

Michael: Any views on what older people should and shouldn’t be getting up to. Dim view of sailing off-shore?
Katie: Just keep fit and healthy, the same as you would at any age really. Sailing and other activities don’t affect the premiums we offer. It’s certainly not a question we’d ask when we quote for you. In fact, sailing and other activities could even have a positive effect on the premium as they’ll count towards your exercise quota on your MyHealthCounts online questionnaire.

Michael: What levels of cover do you provide, for what kind of cost?
Katie: With Aviva Health, you can tailor your cover, so everybody can choose a level that suits their needs. For example, you could decide not to have much outpatient cover. And we have different hospital lists, so you can pick which ones you want to use – some hospitals are expensive, so we give people the option to choose alternative hospitals in return for a premium saving. For an additional cost you can also decide whether to add dental and optical to your policy. There are other ways to reduce the cost too – our £500 excess gives you a 25% discount on your premium.

Michael: Would I pay more as I get older – and will the cover stop at some point?
Katie: We’ll cover you for your lifetime. The premiums do go up with age, but gradually – there’s no big jump.
MyHealthCounts steps in here to help keep the cost down if you are keeping healthy. Age related increases stop at age 80.

Michael: Can one subscribe to this cover at any time, or are there age limits? And can one switch from a previous arrangement with another provider?
Katie: No upper age limit, and yes – you can switch from any provider. If you do decide to switch it’s worth checking that Aviva can give you the level of cover that you require.

Michael: What type of hospital provision do you supply – NHS or private?
Katie: We use both NHS and private hospitals. There are four different hospital lists you can choose from and they all carry different costs so you can tailor your cover. If you choose to go with the NHS when we'd have paid for you to go private, there's a cash back allowance of £100 per night for up to 30 nights' stay in an NHS hospital. If you’re admitted by A&E, you can't claim the cash back for the first three nights.

Michael: Once one is in hospital, let’s assume a private one, is there a limit on how long one can stay there, or on how much is paid?
Katie: For every operation there is a standard amount of hospital stay, some people stay more, some less.
We work closely with the hospital to assess things. If someone wants to stay longer for convenience rather than for medical reasons, we’d let them know when we’d stop paying and agree a plan with them and their family.

Michael: Is there an extra premium for anyone who is disabled?
Katie: No, when assessing premiums we don’t take that into account at all.

Michael: Is the exclusive offer limited to Club Together members?
Katie: The no claim discount of up to 72%¹ is exclusive to Club Together members and their partners. Club Together members can enter at level 13, which is a better discount than if you came direct to Aviva Health. And if you don’t make a claim in the first year, you go up to level 14, which is the highest level at Aviva Health. You could also upgrade (at a cost) to protect your no claims discount.

Michael: What about existing conditions? Is there a point where you say ‘we can’t take you on’?
Katie: No, there isn’t, but pre-existing medical conditions do come into the underwriting conditions.
They don’t affect the cost, but would be excluded from the cover.

Michael: If someone rings with a ‘what if’ question, do you refer back to this when a claim is made?
Katie: The simple answer is no, we don’t refer back to a question that has been made in the past. Also, with our cover you also have access to a 24-hour GP helpline, so if anyone wanted advice on symptoms they’re worried about, they can speak to a GP. Say it’s 3am and their own GP is closed, they immediately get through to a nurse and put onto a GP if needed – it’s all part of the policy. That doesn’t count as a claim or affect the premiums you pay.

This is a summary of the benefits available for this policy. Applications are subject to acceptance and terms and conditions apply. Your final terms are dependent on the information provided in your application and your selected options. Please call Aviva for full terms and conditions. The terms and conditions must be read before obtaining a personalised quote.

Michael’s Review
I found Aviva to be honest and that they really do understand that each customer is unique.

Honesty
The interview covered many topics and the answers to the questions raised suggested no hesitation or lack of confidence in the answers given.

Price
It was explained that there was no simple answer to the principal question regarding price, i.e., “how much?”. The price structure is modular and can be tailored to a customers needs. However Aviva had no hesitation in agreeing to an interviewer’s request to provide, outside the meeting, some examples of price build up for some typical cases.

Service
The interview included a tour of Aviva’s Sales, Service and Support facilities and operations. These elicited the information that the process included initial training for all personnel, followed by continuous on-the-job training and the monitoring of issues that arise, with guidance notes regularly updated and available on line at each customer-facing staff member’s work station. They understand that each customer is unique!

Recognition
Aviva is number three in the UK for the provision of private medical insurances. They are proud of this and the business is held in high esteem by the members of staff whom we met. And of course they are offering the 72%¹ no claims discount for Club Together members.

Information
There is plenty of information on Aviva private medical cover on the web. In addition, the information contained in the brochures provided is well structured and easy to understand.

These are the personal views of Michael Scragg and do not constitute advice of suitability for individual Club Together members.