Aviva has announced that it is delivering on its COVID-19 Pledge by paying £81m to eligible UK private health insurance customers.
The figure represents Aviva’s current estimate of the difference between expected claims costs and actual claims costs for the period of claims monitored, from 1 March 2020 to 31 December 2022, when some treatments and procedures were delayed rather than cancelled.
For individual customers the payment will be approximately six weeks’ worth of their annual premium and for SME customers the payment will be around seven weeks’ worth of their annual premium1. For large corporate clients, payments will vary across schemes depending on each scheme’s claims experience.
Last October, Aviva announced an extension to the timeframe of the COVID-19 Pledge until the end of 2022, stating an expectation that it would take longer for claims for deferred treatment that otherwise would have been made during the pandemic period to arise.
Ongoing analysis by Aviva now shows that the claims catch-up has been slower than expected and combined with the current pressures on UK household finances, Aviva has concluded that a payment earlier in 2022 delivers the best outcome for customers.
Payments will not be subject to the potential increase that was outlined in the October update as the payments are now being made within the original Pledge timeframe, rather than being delayed until 2023.
As stated in the Pledge, customers and clients who paid a premium across the period 1 March 2020 to 31 March 2021 will be eligible for a payment, even if they no longer hold a policy.
Grant Thornton UK LLP have independently reviewed Aviva’s approach in line with the COVID-19 Pledge commitment.
Aviva will be contacting brokers and their clients over the coming weeks to let them know about the payments.
Aviva will continue to monitor claims until the end of the year and if any further payment is made in 2023, this will include a 20% increase.
-ENDS-
Further information
1. The payment estimates provided are based on policies remaining active and paid up throughout the eligible period. If a policy ended during the eligible period, proportionate payments will be made.
Media Enquiries
Melissa Loughran
Senior Media Relations Manager
-
Phone
-
07800 691 947
-
-
Email
Notes to editors:
- We are the UK's leading diversified insurer and we operate in the UK, Ireland and Canada. We also have international investments in India and China.
- We help our 19.6 million (as at 31 August 2024) customers make the most out of life, plan for the future, and have the confidence that if things go wrong we’ll be there to put it right.
- We have been taking care of people for more than 325 years, in line with our purpose of being ‘with you today, for a better tomorrow’. In 2023, we paid £25.6 billion in claims and benefits to our customers.
- In 2021, we announced our ambition to become Net Zero by 2040, the first major insurance company in the world to do so. We are aiming to have Net Zero carbon emissions from Aviva’s operations and supply chain by 2030. While we are working towards our sustainability ambitions, we recognise that while we have control over Aviva’s operations and influence on our supply chain, when it comes to decarbonising the economy in which we operate and invest, Aviva is one part of a far larger global ecosystem. There are also limits to our ability to influence other organisations and governments. Nevertheless, we remain focused on the task and are committed to playing our part in the collective effort to enable the global transition. Find out more about our climate goals at at www.aviva.com/sustainability/climate and our sustainability ambition and action at www.aviva.com/sustainability.
- Aviva is a Living Wage, Living Pension and Living Hours employer and provides market-leading benefits for our people, including flexible working, paid carers leave and equal parental leave. Find out more at https://www.aviva.com/about-us/our-people/
- As at 30 June 2024, total Group assets under management at Aviva Group were £398 billion and our estimated Solvency II shareholder capital surplus as at 30 September 2024 was £7.6 billion. Our shares are listed on the London Stock Exchange and we are a member of the FTSE 100 index.
- For more details on what we do, our business and how we help our customers, visit www.aviva.com/about-us
- The Aviva newsroom at www.aviva.com/newsroom includes links to our spokespeople images, podcasts, research reports and our news release archive. Sign up to get the latest news from Aviva by email.
- You can follow us on:
- X: www.x.com/avivaplc
- LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/aviva-plc
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/avivaplc
- For the latest corporate films from around our business, subscribe to our YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/user/aviva
