Zurich Income Protection: Helping your customers get better

Most people don’t want to be off work, especially long term. For many customers, work gives them financial security and purpose.

At Zurich, we recognise the importance of helping customer not only at the point of claim but throughout their claim to give them the support they need to get better and return to work.

We also recognise that work might not look the same for them when they return. That’s why our Income Protection has several important features. We explore these below through three hypothetical case studies.

Dave, 56

Dave works as an electrical power network engineer. A fall from height sees him sustain a serious spinal injury. Dave undergoes surgery but has a long road of recovery ahead. Dave notifies us about the fall quickly and we start to pay his claim as soon as his deferred period ends. Dave benefits from Zurich’s network of rehabilitation services, which he uses to supplement the support he receives through the health service. Eight months after his accident, Dave is well enough to return to work, but he cannot return to the same job and he’s now earning less. Under our return-to-work package, if, because of their medical situation, your customer returns to a different occupation that’s lower paid, either temporarily or permanently, we’ll top up their earnings, potentially permanently, if they’re always going to earn less in their new role.

Sarah, 45

Sarah is an office manager in a busy accountancy practice and is diagnosed with a soft tissue sarcoma. She struggles emotionally with her cancer diagnosis, especially given her relatively young age, and worries about the future and leaving behind her husband and three children. She reports the claim early and is offered the support of a specialist cancer nurse and counsellor through Zurich’s internal and external network of rehabilitation services. This gives Sarah emotional and mental support while she waits for further diagnostics and treatment. She undergoes surgery to remove the tumour. She suffers pain, tiredness and depression. She receives ongoing support from Zurich and her NHS medical team.

Because she reported the claim early, it is assessed in good time, and we’re able to start paying the benefit from the end of her eight-week deferred period. Sarah makes a slow but steady recovery physically and emotionally but is yet to return to full health. Her dedicated case manager liaises with her employer to agree a return-to-work plan that allows her to work reduced hours while she continues her recovery. During her phased return to work, we top up her income until she can go back to her normal hours and income. Previously, this was limited to a two-year period for anyone returning to the same job on reduced hours, but we’ve removed this restriction.

Peter, 30

Peter is a hair stylist and is diagnosed with Crohn’s disease, a chronic inflammatory bowel disease. He tries his best to manage the condition through good diet. Peter also suffers from anxiety, which exacerbates the condition. A particularly stressful time at work triggers severe symptoms and his doctor signs Peter off work. When he bought his first home, Peter’s parents put him in touch with their financial adviser, who helped him set up an income protection policy to cover the cost of his mortgage and bills should he be unable to work. Peter lets us know about his condition and receives help from rehabilitation services to cope with his anxiety. Given his continued ill-health, Peter’s hospital consultant recommends that Peter has major surgery to remove part of his bowel. Peter is entitled to Statutory Sick Pay, has some savings as a financial cushion, and the adviser has set up the policy to start after his Statutory Sick Pay ends. Following the deferred period, Zurich starts to pay his claim. Two months afterwards, Peter has recovered from the surgery and is keen to return to work. His claim ends. Unfortunately, three weeks later his condition flares up again and his doctor signs him off work. He notifies us immediately and we start to pay his claim straight away. That is because under our linked claims arrangement, if your customer goes off work again for the same reason or a connected reason within a 12-month period, a new deferred period won’t apply. This is subject to restrictions for limited payment term policies that pay out for up to two years per claim.