According to Aviva, the partnership builds on its work with Macmillan clinical nurse specialists, which has provided a quicker claims process for some individual critical illness customers with cancer.
In 2020, the insurer paid over 300 claims for customers with cancer within a matter of days, by speaking to the customer’s Macmillan clinical nurse specialist to verify their diagnosis.
As part of the new agreement, Aviva and Macmillan Cancer Support will be working on a range of new initiatives throughout the year.
The initiatives planned include Aviva and Macmillan working together to train more than 200 front-line Aviva protection claims employees.
Learning events will be hosted by Aviva and Macmillan for financial advisers and corporate employer clients.
In addition, the signposting of customers, financial advisers and corporate clients to Macmillan support will be integrated throughout Aviva’s individual and group protection claims literature and claims journeys.
Furthermore, Aviva and Macmillan intend to integrate signposting to Macmillan services in Aviva’s recently launched DigiCare+ and DigiCare+ Workplace health and wellbeing apps.
Paul Brencher, managing director of individual protection at Aviva, said: “At a time when Aviva’s protection customers experiencing cancer are likely to need additional support, it is right that we do everything that we can to help them get that support.
“I’m delighted to be entering a new phase of our partnership with Macmillan Cancer Support that will build on the success of our individual critical illness claims process with their specialist cancer nurses.
“Together, Aviva and Macmillan helped hundreds of customers and their families to quickly access financial support from their policies in 2020, despite the impact of the pandemic on cancer diagnosis and treatment, enabling them to focus on their health and wellbeing.
“Through the partnership of our two well-known brands, our aim is to lead the industry in helping more protection customers navigate the financial challenges of living with cancer and ultimately to support them in every way that we can through the on-going development of new initiatives.”
Natasha Parker, head of corporate partnerships at Macmillan Cancer Support, added: “Our partnership with Aviva enables Macmillan to provide better support for people living with cancer, particularly those struggling with the financial impact that a cancer diagnosis can bring.
“By working together we are able to signpost Aviva customers to our clinical, financial and emotional support services whilst working closely with our clinical nurse specialists to help reduce the time it takes to process an individual critical illness insurance claim.
“This is crucial as more than one in three people with cancer (39%) are severely financially impacted by their diagnosis.
“Partnerships like ours with Aviva are more important than ever before, especially at a time when people living with cancer may have more complex needs and significant financial pressures from living with cancer due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.”
