Friends Life has launched the Critical Illness Support Service (CISS) as part of its group critical illness (GCI) proposition.
It will be available to any member who has submitted a claim under the Friends Life GCI scheme who has been diagnosed with one of the insured medical conditions or undergoes one of the operations covered by the scheme.
CISS gives people access to specialised advice and vocational support when they are diagnosed with a critical illness.
A member who has suffered a critical illness will be offered a phone consultation with a CISS Support Adviser who is a registered health professional.
The adviser will then put together a tailored resource pack to help manage the identified issues and arrange another contact session to check on progress and offer any further advice. The service is also available to members' children should they need it.
The service is provided by leading rehabilitation experts Working Towards Wellbeing (W2W).
Users of the service are also given unlimited access to a ‘private client area' of the W2W website which has further information on Critical Illness and a chat room where people can find help and offer advice to others with similar conditions.
David Williams, director of group protection at Friends Life, said: "We understand that being diagnosed with a critical illness is not just about the financial implications. The Critical Illness Support Service offers members, and their children, who are diagnosed with a critical illness access to advice and support at a difficult time."
