Income protection – worth more than the money

Physically, mentally and financially, people are feeling the strain, so it makes sense that the opening session of this year’s Income Protection (IP) Awareness Week is entitled ‘Why the time is now for IP’.

The Covid-19 pandemic and mounting cost-of-living crisis has seriously shaken people’s sense of wellbeing, not least their level of financial security.

“People might have thought they were financially resilient before the pandemic, but that has probably been disrupted,” says Peter Hamilton, head of market engagement at Zurich UK.

“It has exposed more openly some of the mental health challenges that are around and there’s no doubt we’ll see more in the way of mental health claims. People have been battered physically and mentally by the last two years.

“There are plenty of things to worry about – whether the pandemic, the global geopolitical situation or domestic issues, such as rising energy bills. It’s a tough time for lots of people.

“Income protection has always been important. It hasn’t always been top of mind for a lot of advisers but it’s gathering momentum.”

Early intervention

While both advisers and customers tend to think of IP in terms of the financial benefit, awareness is growing about other ways in which it can help people.

“It’s partly about money, so that people can continue to pay bills when they are off sick, but we also have a keen focus on rehabilitation to help people get back to work,” says Peter.

“Rehab makes sense from every perspective. It makes sense from the customer’s perspective because what they really want to do is be well enough to work. And it makes sense from our perspective because if they go back to work, we can stop paying the claim. It’s a proper win for everybody involved.”

Zurich is one of few providers that incentivises customers to make a potential IP claim known as early as possible – as soon as they are too ill or injured to work as opposed to at or near the end of their deferred period.

“We recognise the benefits of early intervention with income protection,” says Peter. “If we don’t get notified early, we can’t intervene early and the longer someone is off work, the harder it is to get them back to work.

“Even if your deferred period is a year, if you notify us of a claim and are prepared to do the rehab, we will waive the premiums.”

Separately to rehabilitation services being accessible at the point someone is signed off work, customers can access Zurich Support Services at any time.

All policyholders are entitled to up to six free counselling sessions for anything they feel they need support with.

“It could be money worries; it could be relationship worries, bereavement, stress or anxiety. We have a network of counsellors we can put you in contact with and you don’t have to be off work to access them,” Peter explains.

Zurich can also refer customers to a network of charities through the Zurich Community Trust where the focus is on providing local support where possible.

Rehab stories

What does rehabilitation look like in practice? That depends entirely on each customer and their individual needs.

This is Caroline’s story. She was shocked to learn that at the age of 29 she had a rare form of cancer. It unfortunately spread and was diagnosed as incurable. Her employer held a group IP policy with Zurich, which meant that despite not being able to work, she had financial security.

After taking part in a phase two clinical trial came the next surprise – she no longer had cancer. Through Zurich’s rehabilitation team she was assigned a rehab nurse called Vanessa, who helped her navigate her return to work.

“She helped me to get my plans in order and keep me focussed on my short and long-term goals of my return to work,” says Caroline.

“At various times if there was something I was struggling with or unsure about we had the opportunity to revise the plan. She represented me and talked to my manager and HR to make sure we were all in sync with the way the plan was going.”

Caroline feels she would not have been able to advocate for herself. “Having cancer affects every part of your life,” she says. “For me one of the greatest and most challenging bits of having advanced cancer and being on a clinical trial was the psychological impact.

“When I was returning to work, I was incredibly nervous about it. I was out of practice… and I had so many other things to worry about. It was so great to be able to pass the baton to someone else.

“It’s nice to be able to work and have people talk about my work first rather than my health.”

Other stories of rehab serve to illustrate the variety of help that has been provided to customers of Zurich. In one, a customer was given driving lessons after a car accident shattered their confidence behind the wheel. And in another, a customer was given physiotherapy after sustaining a shoulder injury and waiting a long time for NHS treatment.

A rehabilitation training calendar for group IP customers is another way in which Zurich seeks to help its members.

“Our training calendar is webinar-based and interactive,” says Paula Farmer, Zurich’s rehabilitation services manager.

“The topics are based on what our customers request – many mental health and performance-related ones, such as dealing with burnout and managing a team. We have also run sessions on suicide prevention and dealing with physical conditions in the workplace, such as Covid-19, preventing and alleviating lower back pain, male and female health, menopause and pregnancy.”