Aviva provides expert global medical reviews

Aviva has boosted its range of life insurance products by being the first organisation in Australia to offer access to diagnosis and review of critical illnesses from a panel comprised of global medical experts.

The new service is available for policy holders of the Aviva Critical Illness product and provides the customer with a report regarding the critical illness condition and the treatment options available, after the initial review and diagnosis by the expert panel has been performed.

International SOS is the medical organisation supplying the expert medical panel for Aviva policy holders. This medical entity performs medical research for some of the world’s major medical institutions and comprises experts in the field from around the globe.

Critical illness is typically defined as a serious medical condition such as cancer, stroke, heart attack, and coma. The Critical Illness Policy pays clients a lump sum to cover treatment and rehabilitation costs, as well as lost or reduced income once they are diagnosed with a particular illness.

Many people diagnosed with a critical illness make a full recovery and Aviva are hoping to increase recovery rates through this new service.

“We are looking to help grow those rates to even higher levels by giving customers access to medical advice which may not be available within Australia and therefore further treatments that may not have been considered. Imagine that — a life insurance product which might actually provide the opportunity to find the medical solution for our customers,” Aviva group director products, marketing and public affairs Rob Donaghy said.

“We realise the importance of covering people for critical illnesses and our product is designed around providing the best financial protection available — and also offering innovative extras which provide peace of mind for our customers when they need it most,” he added.

The new initiative follows on from other new features recently introduced by Aviva to its life insurance product range including improved critical illness definitions, allowing customers to reinstate up to 75 per cent of critical illness cover after a claim, and advanced death payment to take care of funeral expenses.