Guardian has selected RedArc to provide a dedicated nurse support service to its protection customers.
The contract with RedArc will initially last three years and forms part of Guardian's Halo service, which is its personal approach to claims support.
This means that at the point of a claim, Guardian’s team will listen to each claimant's concerns, identify the precise help they need and offer help from their network of medical and legal experts.
RedArc’s nurse support service will offer Guardian’s policyholders and their families, free of charge, practical advice and emotional support for long-term physical or mental illness, disability, trauma or bereavement together with appropriate external services such as a course of therapy or counselling when needed.
Christine Husbands, managing director for RedArc, said: "In a much-commoditised market, it is interesting to see Guardian enter with a 'broader definitions and no general exclusions' approach.
"However, as they have recognised, protection needs to go beyond just a financial payout, and offer more comprehensive support for the individual and their family in other areas.”
Guardian’s policyholders and families will benefit from RedArc’s experience of providing practical advice and emotional support tailored to their individual circumstances.
Examples include advice on diagnosis and support during treatment, return to work support and therapies to ease the consequences of treatment.
Katya MacLean, proposition director for Guardian Financial Services, said: "Guardian’s offer is built to get it right for the customer from beginning to end. That starts with designing policies that will pay out and carries through to personalised support at the point of claim.
"Peoples’ circumstances are unique and that’s why we will offer more bespoke support services through Halo. For those that need nurse support, we’ve partnered with RedArc due to their fantastic track record of helping people through difficult times.”
Scott Gallacher, chartered financial planner at Leicester-based Rowley Turton, said: “Guardian are not unique in offering this type of additional support should the worst happen but it is clearly a welcome addition to the protection arena.
"I would suggest that, on its own, it wouldn’t be worth clients paying a much higher premium just for this potential additional support.
"However, if Guardian’s premium is competitive for a particular case, and it comes down to a choice of providers with a relatively small premium difference, then this type of benefit can sway the decision on who to go with."
aamina.zafar@ft.com
