Paul Avis asks 'Can the onset of a serious condition be mitigated by Group Risk insurance services?'

Many levels of support are needed when a serious medical condition is diagnosed. It can have a devastating effect on the individual, their family, friends and colleagues. We believe that, in addition to the security of a financial benefit, our members have the right to benefit from diagnostic and treatment guidance, along with practical and emotional support. All these components can help to mitigate the consequences following the diagnosis of a serious condition.

There are important decisions for a patient to make about their health or the wellbeing of their family. Even if treatment is in progress the individual may have concerns or questions, like “Is the diagnosis correct?”, “Is the medication right for the condition?”, “What is the best treatment?” Our Group Income Protection cover offers all employees (insured or otherwise), and their families, easy access via a 24/7 helpline to Best Doctors^®, which is a second medical opinion service and there is no cost to the individual to use this service. Best Doctors^® provides access to the best medical minds in the world; a dedicated Case Manager will identify the most appropriate consultant using a database of over 53,000 of the world’s leading clinicians.  This means members can get the right answers about their condition, diagnosis and treatment, and are then able to make informed medical decisions. Best Doctors^® is also available to employees who are insured for Group Critical Illness as well as their families.

When an employer takes out Group Income Protection or Group Critical Illness cover, all of their employees, whether insured or not, and their families, also have access to an innovative Treatment Sourcing Service (TSS^TM), provided by Medical Care Direct (MCD), which helps to source private healthcare. The TSS is available online and by telephone, enabling users to take advantage of a database of all 450 private hospitals and NHS private patient units in the UK, and over 20,000 consultants. MCD negotiates and tailors packages for a wide variety of treatments, based on the individual’s statement of what matters to them with regards to cost, location, timescale, specialist or other criteria. Where possible, MCD will arrange these packages at a fixed price, so that the patient knows exactly what they are paying for and how much it will cost.