Zurich is providing its life protection customers with access to bereavement support service Empathy at no extra cost and also investing in specialist training for its teams.
From today, retail protection customers and employees of corporate risk clients, including all life insurance beneficiaries at the point of claim, will have access to the service.
This includes personalised care plans, dedicated care managers for personalised guidance and secure digital tools to help manage the emotional and practical pressures for tasks such as probate and estate administration, funeral logistics or closing digital accounts and subscriptions that follow the death of their loved one.
Later this year, retail protection customers will also have access to Zurich LifeVault, a secure digital platform that helps people plan for their legacy, create wills and organise essential information, so families clearly understand their wishes.
The new service will also enable families to preserve and store memories from photos right through to family recipes, so everyone can access these items through Empathy’s platform.
Access to the Empathy Loss Support service will also be expanded to support customers with the loss of a loved one.
These services sit alongside Zurich’s existing support services and will also be available to all advisers who are registered with Zurich, so they too can benefit from the loss support and guidance offered to customers.
Part of global customer strategy
The insurer said last year it placed empathy at the centre of its global customer strategy, influencing product design, employee training and how the business supports advisers and customers.
Since 2023, more than 50,000 hours of empathy training has been delivered through it’s global empathy training program to help employees respond with emotional intelligence in moments of vulnerability.
The program originated in the UK retail protection team before being expanded globally and saw significant impact; ‘helpfulness of person’ survey scores jumped +48.8 percentage points to 92.5 following the roll out of training.
To support the launch of Empathy Loss Support, UK-based claims handlers and protection consultants will receive 60 hours of specialist bereavement training to ensure customers receive compassionate and knowledgeable support at every touchpoint.
Following the UK launch, Zurich intends to expand Empathy Loss Support to other markets as part of a global roll out strategy.
Grief is just the beginning
Louise Colley, retail protection director at Zurich UK, (pictured) said: “When it comes to loss and bereavement, grief is just the beginning.
“There are funeral logistics, probate and estate administration, digital accounts to close and more when your life has just been turned upside down.
“Empathy’s services will provide our customers with the human care and digital tools to manage all this and more, so that people don’t feel forced to move on but really helped to move forward.
“Empathy isn’t just a skill but a cornerstone of our business, and our partnership with Empathy is a continuation of our commitment to this.
“The nature of insurance means that we help people at some of the most vulnerable moments in their lives, so listening, understanding and supporting people is always at the heart of everything we do.
“With over half of UK adults without a valid will and rising care demands being felt across the country, this strengthens our proposition to win in the market.”
‘Ensure employees feel supported’
James Tait, managing director of corporate protection at Zurich UK, said: “The inclusion of Empathy Loss Support in our offering will help our corporate risk customers to support their employees with compassion and care at arguably the most difficult time of their lives.
“These resources and care systems ensure employees feel understood and supported, while fostering a caring workplace culture.
“For employers, investing in bereavement services demonstrates a commitment to employee welfare while strengthening engagement and resilience across the whole company, which we know is a priority for our customers.”
Ron Gura, co-founder and CEO of Empathy said: “Partnering with Zurich is a significant milestone in our mission to transform the way families navigate life’s most challenging moments – from loss and bereavement to the many complexities that follow.
“Bringing that support to millions of families across the UK, at the scale this partnership makes possible, is something we’re incredibly proud of. This is what meaningful, compassionate care looks like in practice.”