Customer support measures during Covid-19 restrictions

Mother holding baby

Leading insurer, Aviva, is continuing with a package of measures to help customers and their communities during increased restrictions across the UK.

These support measures are in place to help personal and business customers and include:

Personal customers

  • Support for NHS workers – free breakdown cover, enhanced home insurance for personal belongings and free courtesy cars for Aviva customers working in the NHS. It will also prioritise repairs for NHS workers who are Aviva motor insurance customers.1
  • Financial hardship support – deferring monthly payments and waiving admin or cancellation fees for customers who are experiencing financial difficulties as a result of Covid-19.
  • Enabling policy changes – assisting customers in making changes to their policy for cover that is no longer required, including changing their mileage or removing add-ons, such as removing Foreign Use cover or downgrading breakdown cover if desired.
  • Helping travel insurance customers - offering pro-rata refunds to travel insurance customers who are no longer able to travel and wish to cancel their policy.
  • Extending cover – for customers who are working from home or using their car for volunteering and temporarily removing unoccupancy limits for those unable to visit second homes.2
Business customers
  • Supporting businesses to work from home - providing the same level of protection to businesses now carrying out their business activities from employees’ homes;
  • Assisting businesses to keep trading – offering flexible insurance cover where a business has changed their model to meet new circumstances, such as a restaurant to takeaway operation. 
  • Providing risk management and prevention guidance – helping business customers protect their assets and support the wellbeing of employees, customers and suppliers online, virtually or on-site;
  • Extending cover to enable our commercial motor customers to support the national effort through the NHS volunteer responder scheme or volunteering to transport medicine or groceries; 
  • Providing a flexible approach to enable policy changes where cover is no longer required or can be reduced, subject to policy terms and conditions.

Earlier in the year, Aviva donated a total of £33.5m (£15m to NHS Charities Together and the British Red Cross to support those on the front line, and £18.5M for the ABI Covid-19 support fund) to make sure the most vulnerable get the right support.

Commenting on this package of support, Colm Holmes, Global CEO, General Insurance at Aviva plc said: “With England in lockdown,and increasing restrictions in place across the UK, we believe it’s right that we provide our customers and communities with continued support during this time. 

"We recognise the exceptional efforts of our NHS workers and their unwavering commitment to helping those stricken by the virus."

“We recognise the exceptional efforts of our NHS workers and their unwavering commitment to helping those stricken by the virus. If we can make their lives a little easier by extending cover so they can travel to and from work safely, then we are happy to do so.

“Covid-19 is impacting our lives in so many ways and we are taking a flexible approach to ensure we can provide additional support to our customers , including those facing financial difficulties and customers who are adapting to working from home on a more permanent basis.

“Businesses have been hit incredibly hard by the impact of Covid-19 and we are doing everything we can to help them remain resilient, by offering dedicated risk management guidance and flexible insurance coverage as businesses diversify and adapt in response to the pandemic.

"Businesses have been hit incredibly hard by the impact of Covid-19 and we are doing everything we can to help them remain resilient."

“Our contact teams are ready and available to help with enquiries and claims so customers should contact us in their usual way, via phone, online or through their broker or bank.”

This package of Covid-19 measures is in place until 31 January 2021 and will be regularly reviewed to ensure the right support is provided.

For more information, customers can visit Aviva’s dedicated Covid-19 support hub at www.aviva.co.uk/help-and-support/coronavirus/.

1 Breakdown is available to any Aviva customer who is an NHS worker.

Courtesy car and priority repairs are only for NHS workers who are Aviva motor insurance customers.  

Personal belongings cover is only for NHS workers who are Aviva home insurance customers.

These policy extensions are in line with the ABI pledges announced in March. Temporarily removing unoccupancy limits for second homes while government travel restrictions apply.

-ENDS-

Media Enquiries

Liz Kennett

General Insurance — Products and regulation

Erik Nelson

Motor Insurance and Compensation Culture, Fraud and Data

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 19.2 million (as at 31 December 2023) 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 www.aviva.com/climate-goals and our sustainability ambition and action at www.aviva.com/sustainability
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