Support for customers experiencing vulnerability

Need for particular or additional support and care

It’s important that all our customers are treated with care and respect and have reasonable access to our products and the associated services that we provide.

Some of our customers may have limited or reduced capacity or personal circumstances that may make it harder for them to access our products and/or services. We refer to these customers as ‘Customers experiencing vulnerability’ (‘CEV’). The circumstances can vary and can be short term or ongoing, but vulnerability factors might include one or a combination of the following:

A physical health condition or disability – e.g. visually impaired, hard of hearing/deaf, chronic or acute health condition;
A mental health condition or disability - such as autism spectrum condition, a cognitive impairment or other mental health condition;
Language barrier – where a customer doesn’t speak English or has a limited understanding of English;
Age related issues – ranging from inability to access products or services due to inability or unwillingness to use technology to Dementia or Alzheimer’s; or
Other situational factors such as financial hardship, addiction issues, relationship breakdowns or other periods of personal stress.

We understand that every customer is different and has different circumstances. This means that, to the extent we can, we will respond to you individually in a way that is appropriate to your needs. Our customer-facing teams are trained to be aware of and respond appropriately to customers experiencing vulnerability.

We take any complaint about our treatment of our customers seriously and any such complaint will be investigated fully in accordance with our complaints process.

How we provide particular or additional support and care

Let us know

If you feel that you are in need of additional support and/or care, you can let us know by completing our contact us form and choosing the Additional Support for Vulnerability option or calling us on 0800 800 836. Your authorised caller can do this for you if you have one (see below).

We will always treat your information carefully, with respect and will only use this information to offer any additional support or care you might need.

Our CEV Support

As every situation is different, there is no single solution or approach that will fit all circumstances of CEV, however, examples of where we can offer particular or additional support are as follows:

Authorised caller

You can nominate an authorised caller who can assist you with managing your policy. This person would normally be a trusted family member, but could also be an independent financial adviser or other trusted person.

Decrease your cover

If you are experiencing financial hardship you can decrease your cover so a reduced premium is payable but you still keep the protection of your policy in place.

There are a number of things you need to be aware of so make sure you call us on 0800 800 836 to discuss your options and we can explain these.

We’ll continue to review our CEV support

There are many factors that contribute to vulnerability, and we understand that our support options may not meet each individual customer's particular requirements. We’ll continue to look at other ways we can offer special support to CEV.