You can request a quote from your account manager or send an email to groupprotectionirl@aviva.com. Please refer to the New Business tab to see what we require to produce a quote.

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In order to produce an accurate quotation we need the following completed:

1. Group Protection Quotation Request Form

This is needed to:

1. Outline what benefits are required and
2. To provide us with information required to produce an accurate rate based on details such as scheme history, claims history, overseas travel and long term absentees as these details can considerably effect the rates.

Note: We have not branded this form so you can use it to pass on to other providers. This way you only have to complete one request, then the rates/pricings you receive back can be accurately compared.

2. Member data noted below in excel format.
• Date of birth
• Gender
• Occupation
• Salary
• Marital status (if the benefit structure requires this)

Quotes are valid for 3 months from the date of issue.

Who to contact:

Name: Group Protection Team
Tel: 01 618 6627
Email: groupprotectionirl@aviva.com

The main reason is to have full information to allow us produce a fair and accurate quotation. A premium or rate can change dramatically under certain circumstances, such as a member who has been previously underwritten on adverse terms. Even a members date of birth can have an effect on the price.

We have not branded this form so you can use it to pass on to other providers. This way you only have to complete one request, then the quotes you receive back can be compared fairly and accurately.

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Our minimum premium is set at €1,000.00

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There must be a minimum of 3 members to set up a Group Protection scheme. This is the lowest entry level in the market.

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The Unit Rate method of costing uses underlying age-related premium rates that reflect the standard risk profile. These rates are applied to the membership of the scheme and then adjusted to allow for administration costs and scheme specific factors such as member occupations, past claims experience etc. The resulting total premium is expressed as a % of the total benefit for the scheme.

Costs are significantly lower on a group basis than to individuals. Subject to there being no significant change in benefits or membership, the percentage rate will be used to calculate the premiums at the following two renewals as the rates are guaranteed for 3 years.

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• Significant savings over individual policies
• Certainty of cost – rates are guaranteed for 3 years
• Minimal underwriting
• Simplified administration
• Employer paid & group voluntary options
• Tax benefits – premiums may be allowable against tax

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Rates are guaranteed for 3 years. These guaranteed rates may not apply under certain criteria, such as if the total sum insured changes by more than 25% or if the terms of the policy needs to be changed. Full details can be found on our technical Guide.

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The eligibility conditions confirm who is eligible to join the scheme and what requirements must be satisfied to join the scheme. At Aviva, we only allow schemes with a defined eligibility i.e. an eligibility that allows all employees to join the scheme upon meeting the eligibility requirements.

You can define the eligibility by outlining:

• Who is eligible to join the scheme ie. all employees.
• When they are eligible to join ie. do they have to complete a probationary period or are they automatically covered once they join the company.
• If mid-year new entrants are entitled to join immediately after meeting criteria above or at the next renewal.

Examples of what we would consider a defined eligibility are as follows: (a) All permanent staff (b) all staff following 6 months service.

It is possible for a scheme to have multiple categories with different eligibility conditions based on the member type.

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Actively at work means that the employee:

1. Is working their normal contracted number of hours
2. Has not received medical advice to refrain from work
3.  Is not restricted from fully performing the normal duties associated with their occupation

Note: those on paid and unpaid statutory leave (maternity, parental and carer) can be considered actively at work so long as they would be able to fulfil points 2 and 3 above.

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We can cover insured members who are travelling or working overseas, or those temporarily seconded to another organisation in a different country once:

1. They still have an Irish contract of employment, are paid in Ireland and their salary is subject to Irish taxation under Schedule E of TCA.
2. The scheme is not a cross border scheme
3. The premium is paid in the currency of the Republic of Ireland
4. The member still meets the eligibility criteria

Full details can be found in our technical guide.

You do not usually need to tell us about employees during the policy year who need to join the policy if they have met the eligibility conditions, provided that the members benefits are not above the free cover limit. These new insured members will be accounted for at the next anniversary date.

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For a Group Income Protection only scheme, we need:

• completed application form and
• premium

For a Group Life scheme we need:

• completed application form
• Declaration of Trust
• Premium

Revenue approval is required on a Group Life scheme and in order to gain approval, a Declaration of Trust is required. This will allow the employer claim tax relief on the premiums payable. If the employer is setting a scheme up under an existing trust, we will need :

• A copy of the trust document, including the scheme rules
• A copy of the Revenue approval letter
• The Pensions Authority registration number

Please note that if the previous trust is linked to a pension trust, details of the new Group Protection scheme with Aviva must be made available to the trustees. This is so the trustees can include the group protection benefit(s) on the individual Member Annual Benefit Statements.

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There are various DOT’s so you must ensure to advise us who will act as Trustee so that we can issue the correct version for completion.

1. Employer Declaration of Trust – where the employer is going to act as trustee.
2. Corporate Declaration of Trust – where the employer wishes to appoint an external trustee.
3. Individual Declaration of Trust – where nominated individuals are appointed by the employer. This type of deed is also suitable for a partnership scheme*.
   (*If this type of deed is required please let us know so we can draft a specific version for your client)

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Please contact pensionstechnicalservices@aviva.com or your account manager with the specific details and they will arrange it for you.

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The start date is the date Aviva confirmed risk. The start date cannot be backdated because we would not be in a position to pay a claim without being on risk. We will also only start charging premiums from the date we commence risk.

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It is important to note is that the same person cannot sign the application form twice on behalf of the employer. Generally, it is two directors that sign but if a 2nd director is not available, a company secretary or someone authorised to sign on behalf of the employer can sign.

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Yes, we can offer this benefit if requested at inception. This will provide the member with the option to transfer the lump sum benefit currently insured under the scheme to an individual term life insurance policy, without additional medical underwriting. This is subject to certain conditions:

• A maximum lump sum of €1,500,000
• The request to exercise this option being confirmed to us within 60 days of the member leaving service
• The former insured member:
  a.) is under age 60 at the start date of the new policy
  b.) is resident
  c.) has not left service due to redundancy, illness, early retirement or dismissal

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Aviva is delighted to offer redundancy cover at no extra cost as standard across all Group Life schemes, we continue to cover insured members as follows:

• for up to 1 year where there are 10 or more employees being made redundant
• for up to 6 months where there are less than 10 employees being made redundant
• until they find alternative employment
• until they reach the cease age whichever comes first.

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Schemes will be issued with a free cover limit. This means that usually no medical information is needed if the members benefits are below this limit, once:

• the member fulfils our actively at work conditions; and
• is not a discretionary entrant

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For schemes with 50 or more eligible members, members who are above the free cover limit will, in most circumstances, only be medically underwritten once. This will stand even if rated or excluded terms have been applied to individual insured members.

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If the scheme has 3 or more eligible members and those members were insured under a group scheme with another insurer before the start date of this scheme, we will accept the previously insured level of cover on medical underwriting terms that are no worse than those provided by the previous insurer. This is subject to the following:

• there has been no increase in benefit levels;
• there has been no break in cover;
• any insured members that were declined or excluded above a certain level will only be covered for the benefit they had with the previous insurer. This is regardless of whether they are now below our free cover limit;
• we have been informed about any long term absentees and any adverse underwriting decisions; and
• you have provided written confirmation from the previous insurer of any members above the free cover limit that were previously underwritten, the amount underwritten, the underwriting decision and the date of acceptance
• we have received confirmation of actively at work condition.

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The free cover limit is a level of benefit set by Aviva, whereby members under this free cover limit do not need to complete any medical underwriting. Only members above this free cover limit will need to complete a Statement of Health or undergo medical examination(s). The free cover limit is different on all schemes as it will depend on each scheme size and overall level of benefit.

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A discretionary entrant is an employee or equity partner:

• Who is not an eligible employee but you request us to include in the policy (including joining before the date they are first eligible to join)
• Who was not included as an insured member within the 12 months after they were first eligible

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This may be possible so you should inform us of a discretionary entrant promptly. Discretionary entrants are only covered once we have confirmed in writing that they are accepted.

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A late entrant is an employee that is a member of the company who has not been added to the scheme at the first opportunity. All late entrants must be notified at the earliest opportunity and are only covered once we have confirmed in writing that they are accepted.

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Six weeks prior to the renewal date we will issue a pre-renewal pack to you. You should send this on to your clients as soon as possible. The pre-renewal pack includes:

1. Cover letter outlining what is required:
   ● Member name
   ● Gender
   ● Date of birth
   ● Salary
   ● Marital status
   ● Category (if applicable)
   ● Date of joining service for new entrants only
   ● Occupation
   ● Premium protection cover and the cost of life cover benefits (if applicable)
   ● Any other information relevant to the scheme
2.  Underwriting member schedule
3.  Invoice

We will issue regular reminders for updated data and if not received 90 days after the renewal date, we will process the calculation of premiums and benefits based on information we hold. This could result in an uninsured liability.
Once completed, this should be sent to grouprenewals@aviva.com

This is an underwriting schedule, which details members who have benefits in excess of the scheme Free Cover Limit. It is not a member schedule.

The mid-year adjustment will apply where mid-year entry and/or salary related increases are allowed throughout the year.

A balancing adjustment will be charged at the next renewal date for these movements and changes in salary roll. We smooth the process for leavers and joiners and do not make individual adjustments.

For example, if a member joins a scheme on 1st July and the next renewal date is January, we calculate the proportionate premium owed for the period of time they were on cover, so 6 months premiums will be costed for at the next renewal in respect of that member.  Likewise, if a member leaves service during the year, we adjust the charges to take account of this.

In schemes where the rules allow mid-year new entrants and/or salary related benefit increases, such new entrants/increases are automatically covered up to the scheme Free Cover Limit. There is no requirement to advise us of the details during the scheme year.

However, details will be required for new entrants whose benefits exceed the scheme Free Cover Limit, i.e. the member will be required to complete a Statement of Health Form.

We will also require details of members where it becomes apparent that a member or group of members has not joined the scheme at their first available opportunity.

Unit Rate schemes are costed at an overall group level and there is only one rate and premium per scheme. The premium is calculated by applying the rate to the total lump sum death benefit for Life and the total sum insured for Income Protection. Therefore, we do not provide a breakdown of premiums per member or groups of members.

This is a range of supports and services that Aviva can provide to members of a scheme following an illness or injury that prevents them from working. From as early as 4 weeks into a member’s absence we can work with the employers and the employee to get to grips with what is wrong and create a tailor-made plan that best suits everyone’s needs. By engaging in our services such as physiotherapy, psychotherapy, speech and language therapy, among others, we have the potential to stop a health issue getting out of control and increasing the member’s chance of a successful recovery and return to work.

Further details on our Early Intervention, including Employer and Employee Guides can be found within our Document Library.

Group Life/Spouse’s Death In-Service Claim:
To make a group Life or Spouses Death In-Service claim you must send written notice to grouprenewals@aviva.com as soon as possible after an insured member’s death.

If you need to discuss the case, you can also contact our team on 1890 882 019.

There is no claim form required.
We need a Birth Certificate, Death Certificate, last 3 payslips (as proof of salary) and any other requirements as notified by the Life office. We cannot pay any claim until all requirements have been received.

Note: We will not pay any claims made more than 2 years after the earlier of:
• the day the trustee first knew of the insured member’s death; or
• the day on which the trustee could reasonably have known of the insured member’s death.

Group Income Protection Claim:
To submit an Income Protection claim please contact our IP claims team on riskclaims@aviva.com outlining:

• Scheme name
• Scheme number
• Name of potential claimant
• Member’s date of birth

If you have any questions you can contact our claims team on 1890 882 019.

In addition to the claim forms, we will need evidence of the member’s medical condition, including:
•  its severity;
•  how long it has existed;
•  how it affects them; and
•  if they are receiving medical advice and treatment, where appropriate.

The following may be required to enable a claim to be paid:
•  evidence of membership and earnings;
•  evidence of age of the insured member; and
•  any other information which we may need to verify the identity of the payee.

Note: We cannot pay a claim until all requirements have been received.

• before the period of incapacity has lasted 2 months; or
• before the period of incapacity has lasted one month if the deferred period is 13 weeks.

If we are not notified of a claim within these time limits and are then unable to confirm incapacity due to the delay, payment of the benefit may be affected and benefits that were due before we were told will not be backdated.

We will provide a temporary cover level of benefits until the earlier of 90 days or the date our underwriting decision is made. Cover will start from the date of joining the policy, or the effective date of an increase in benefits. The temporary level of cover:

• will exclude any claim which arises in respect of any pre-existing conditions; and
• is not applied to any member who has previously:
  – been declined by us or another insurer;
  – been postponed by us or another insurer;
  – been restricted by us or another insurer; or
  – declined to provide full medical information.

Under a Group Life Insurance scheme payment will be made to the Trustee.

Under an Income Protection scheme, benefits are paid to the employer and it is their responsibility to make the payments to the employee through their payroll process. It is also the employer’s responsibility to deduct the relevant Income Tax and USC (Universal Social Charge).

Yes. This is a benefit that is paid in proportion to the reduction in the members earnings, with an allowance for inflation.