Extra services with protection policies: virtual GPs, counselling and support

Many protection insurance policies now come with more than the cover itself. Alongside the promise to pay out, insurers increasingly bundle in extra services: virtual GP appointments you can book by video at any hour, counselling and mental health support, and in some cases rehabilitation or lifestyle services. The Association of British Insurers notes that protection policies often include added health benefits like virtual GP services, vocational rehabilitation, mental health support and Employee Assistance Programmes¹.

These extras can be genuinely useful, and they are usually offered at no extra cost alongside the policy. But they come with an important catch that is easy to miss. Aviva, describing its own DigiCare+ service, states plainly: "This is a non-contractual benefit we can change or withdraw at any time."² In other words, the services sit outside the insurance contract itself. The payout promise is legally binding; the virtual GP app is not.

This page explains what these added benefits are, who can typically use them, what they cost, how to access them, and where their limits lie. It covers the main types of service found across the UK protection market, and the questions to ask before relying on any of them.

What added benefits with protection policies are

Added benefits, sometimes called wellbeing services or value-added benefits, are non-insurance services that come packaged with a protection policy. They are not part of the cover itself: they do not pay out money, and using them is nothing like claiming on the policy. Instead they offer practical help, usually around health and wellbeing, to people who hold the policy.

The range is broad. The ABI lists virtual GP services, vocational rehabilitation, mental health support and Employee Assistance Programmes among the added health benefits often included in protection policies¹. In the health insurance market, the ABI similarly notes that many policies offer flexible benefits including access to virtual GP services, and that some plans offer preventative services such as regular health assessments, mental health support and lifestyle advice⁴. The same pattern has spread to life insurance, income protection and related products.

Insurers offer these services for a reason that matters to the reader: a policyholder who gets medical advice quickly, or support with a mental health problem, may avoid a claim altogether. The services are also a way for insurers to differentiate products that are otherwise similar, since the underlying cover across the market works in much the same way.

Not every policy includes them, and what is included varies by insurer and by product. Some services come with term life insurance, others with income protection or over 50s plans. The only reliable way to know what a particular policy includes is to read its documents before buying, and to ask the insurer directly.

Virtual GP appointments: 24/7 video and phone access

The most common added benefit is access to a remote GP service. Instead of waiting for an NHS appointment, a policyholder can book a video or phone consultation with a doctor, often at short notice and at any hour.

Aviva's DigiCare+ service, which comes with certain Aviva life products, offers what the insurer describes as "quick and easy access to unlimited Digital GP consultations, 24/7, 365 days a year"². National Friendly takes a similar approach with its accident only income protection policy, where the virtual GP service, branded Friendly GP+, is described by the insurer as "a free added benefit to your client's Accident Only Income Protection policy"⁵. The wording of that second quote reflects that National Friendly markets the product through financial advisers, but the service itself is for the person who holds the policy.

A few practical points are worth understanding. First, a virtual GP is a real doctor, but the consultation happens remotely, by video or phone, which suits some health questions better than others. Second, these services are separate from your NHS record: the ABI notes that insurers will also check your answers with your GP when you apply for cover⁶, which is a different process from using the virtual GP service. Third, availability of appointments at the moment you want one is not guaranteed; "unlimited" refers to the number of consultations the service allows, not to instant access.

For someone who finds it hard to get a convenient NHS appointment, perhaps because of work hours or caring responsibilities, a 24/7 video consultation can be a real convenience. It is a convenience, though, not a substitute for the NHS, and not a promise of a diagnosis or prescription on demand.

Counselling, mental health and bereavement support

The second strand of added benefits is support for mental health, both during the life of the policy and at the point of a claim.

On the wellbeing side, the ABI notes that some health insurance plans offer preventative services including mental health support and lifestyle advice⁴. Protection insurers have followed the same path, with counselling sessions and mental health helplines commonly bundled into policies alongside the virtual GP access described above¹. Some insurers also offer support to families after a death, such as bereavement counselling, although what is offered, and who can access it, depends on the individual insurer and the type of policy held.

Two things are worth knowing about mental health and protection insurance more broadly. Applying for cover with a mental health condition can affect the price: guidance from the Mental Health and Money Advice service notes that if you apply for life insurance with a mental health condition, you may have to pay more than people who do not have any health conditions⁷. And the duty of honesty runs both ways: insurers will check the answers you give on the application with your GP⁶, so mental health history needs to be disclosed like any other health information. The counselling service that comes with the policy is separate from all of this underwriting, and using it does not affect your cover.

If a claim has already been made, the claiming after a death page explains the process, and extra support if you are ill or vulnerable covers the help insurers may offer beyond the payout.

Rehabilitation and other health services

Beyond GP access and counselling, some policies include services aimed at recovery and prevention. The ABI lists vocational rehabilitation among the added health benefits often included in protection policies¹: this is support to help someone return to work after illness or injury, which is most often found with income protection policies, where the insurer's interest in your recovery aligns with your own.

In the health insurance market, the ABI notes that some plans offer preventative services such as regular health assessments and lifestyle advice⁴. Protection policies have adopted similar offerings, and the general shape of these bundles is consistent across the market: a remote GP service, a mental health or counselling line, and some form of practical support, with the exact mix varying by insurer and product¹.

National Friendly's Friendly GP+ is an example of how these services attach to specific products rather than being open to everyone: it comes with the insurer's accident only income protection policy⁵. That is the pattern to expect. The services are tied to holding a particular policy, and if the policy ends, the services end with it.

What these services are not is treatment. A virtual GP consultation, a counselling session or a health assessment may point you towards care, but the services themselves are typically consultations and advice rather than ongoing treatment. Anything beyond that, such as physiotherapy courses or specialist referrals, depends entirely on what the individual service's terms provide, and the range of services offered can differ substantially between insurers.

Sharing the services with a partner and children

Many people buying protection insurance are couples, and a natural question is whether a partner or children can also use the virtual GP or counselling services. The answer depends on the individual insurer's terms, but the structure of the policy gives some clues.

Joint life insurance is available to couples who live together or are in a civil partnership, regardless of marital status⁸. A joint policy covers two lives, but it is still one policy: there is only one payout, which is made after the first partner dies⁹. Because the added services attach to the policy rather than to each person, whether both partners can register for the virtual GP service, and whether children are included, is set by the service's terms rather than by the insurance contract.

Household circumstances can also change after a policy is taken out. Guidance from Shelter Scotland notes that living together usually changes the amount of benefits you get¹⁰, and GOV.UK lists moving in with a partner as a change that must be reported for Child Benefit purposes¹¹. These are rules about state benefits rather than insurance, but they illustrate the general point: who counts as being in your household matters across financial services, and an insurer's added services may define eligibility by household too.

For couples planning inheritance tax, Which? notes that for those who are married or in a civil partnership, a joint-life, second-death policy can be an option for covering a potential tax bill¹². Whatever the policy structure, the only way to know whether a partner or child can use the added services is to check the service's terms or ask the insurer before relying on it. The joint life insurance page explains how those policies work.

Included at no extra cost, but the premium pays for the cover

Added benefits are generally marketed as free with the policy. Aviva presents DigiCare+ as part of its life products at no additional charge², and National Friendly describes Friendly GP+ as "a free added benefit" to its accident only income protection policy⁵.

"Free" here means no separate subscription or fee each time you use it. It does not mean costless. The premium you pay for the policy is based on your age, health and lifestyle³, and the cost of providing the services is part of the insurer's overall business. A useful parallel exists elsewhere in financial services: the Financial Ombudsman Service has described how a packaged bank account comes with extra benefits, like insurance and roadside assistance, but also charges fees¹³. With a protection policy the structure is reversed, the extras ride on a product you are already paying for, but the principle is the same: bundled benefits are part of what you pay for, whether or not you use them.

There are also places where genuinely no extra charge applies. Which? notes that most insurers offer writing a policy in trust as an option when you initially take it out, and there should not be any extra charge when it is offered by the insurer at policy start, although transferring an existing policy into trust later may incur costs via a financial adviser or solicitor¹⁴. That is a different kind of added extra, a legal arrangement rather than a service, but it shows the same pattern: some things are included at the outset, and the same thing done later can cost money.

The practical approach is to treat the services as included but not free-standing. If you cancelled the policy, the services would go with it, and if the insurer withdrew the services, the premium would not fall as a result.

Non-contractual: the insurer can change or withdraw them

This is the single most important thing to understand about added benefits, and it is usually stated in the small print of the insurer's own pages. Aviva's description of DigiCare+ says: "This is a non-contractual benefit we can change or withdraw at any time."²

Non-contractual means the service sits outside the insurance contract. The contract is what guarantees the payout if you die or cannot work, and the insurer cannot walk away from that. The added services carry no such guarantee: the insurer can change how they work, restrict them, or remove them entirely, even while the policy continues.

This has consequences for how you plan. If a virtual GP service is the main reason a particular policy appeals, that reason can disappear after you have bought the cover, with no reduction in premium and no right to cancel penalty-free on those grounds. The policy's own terms are what bind the insurer: the cover amount, the premium basis, and the exclusions written into the policy⁶. Everything else is goodwill, or marketing, or both.

The same asymmetry works in the other direction with the policy itself. If you cancel life insurance, it simply stops and you do not get any money back¹⁵. Renewable term insurance offers the option to renew at the end of the term without new medical underwriting, but at a premium based on your increased age at that point⁹. The contractual elements are fixed and enforceable; the extras are neither.

Where the services do not apply

Added services have boundaries, and they are worth knowing before you rely on one.

The first boundary is legal. The Consumer Rights Act 2015 contains a provision, section 65, that does not apply to contracts of insurance, including contracts to pay an annuity on human life¹⁶. The Act's unfair terms protections are shaped around ordinary consumer contracts, and insurance is treated as a category of its own, governed by the insurance contract and by the regulator's rules rather than by that section. The added services, sitting outside the insurance contract, have their own terms set by the service provider.

The second boundary is territorial. Where you live can change what financial services arrangements cover. Turn2us states that citizens of the Republic of Ireland, Isle of Man and Channel Islands are not able to use its Benefits Calculator because the benefits system in these territories is different to the UK system¹⁷. Northern Ireland frequently has its own arrangements too: guidance on Employment and Support Allowance notes that while the benefits and rates are the same as in England and Wales, Northern Ireland has its own guidance and support services¹⁸, and the State Pension claim service for people living in Northern Ireland is separate from the GOV.UK service used in England, Scotland and Wales¹⁹. None of these rules governs insurer services directly, but they show how often UK-wide services carve out territories. Whether a virtual GP or counselling service is available in Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands or overseas is set in that service's own terms, and it is worth checking before registering if you live outside Great Britain.

The third boundary is the policy itself. Life insurance policies carry exclusions, situations and events that are not covered, and if the policy lapses due to non-payment of premiums, coverage stops and no benefits will be paid²⁰. A lapsed policy takes the added services with it: the services are a benefit of being a policyholder, not a standalone entitlement.

How to register and book an appointment

Using an added service is normally straightforward, but it requires a separate registration from the policy itself. The policy is set up with the insurer; the virtual GP or counselling service is run by a third party, and you usually need to register with that provider before you can book.

The experience of other financial services shows why registering early helps. NS&I tells customers buying Premium Bonds for a child that if they have not already registered, it will set them up to use the online and phone service as part of the application²¹, and NS&I notes that once registered, it is quicker and easier to apply for a new investment online and by phone because it already has all the customer's details²². Insurer services work on the same principle: registering before you need the service means you are not filling in forms while unwell.

The steps in practice are:

1. Find the service in your policy documents. The welcome pack or the insurer's website names the service and the firm that runs it. Aviva, for example, states that DigiCare+ is provided by Square Health².
2. Register with that provider. This is separate from your policy number, and usually needs your own contact details and identity.
3. Book through the provider's app, website or phone line. Booking methods differ between services, as do the hours and availability of appointments.
4. Keep the policy in force. The services depend on being a policyholder, and cover that lapses stops, with no benefits paid²⁰. The missed premiums and lapsed cover page explains what happens if payments stop.

If you cannot find any mention of a service in your documents, it may simply not be included with your policy. Asking the insurer directly is the quickest way to find out what, if anything, you have.

A separate firm, separate terms

Added services are almost always run by a company other than the insurer. Aviva's DigiCare+ is provided by Square Health²; National Friendly's Friendly GP+ is a branded service attached to its accident only income protection policy⁵. This matters because the terms you agree to when you register for the service are the service provider's terms, not your insurance policy's terms.

The Financial Ombudsman Service has dealt with disputes over bundled extras in other contexts, including a case in which a consumer complained that a bank upgraded their account without permission, in an account that came with extra benefits like insurance and roadside assistance but also charged fees¹³. The lesson for protection policyholders is to know which firm is responsible for what: a complaint about the insurance policy goes to the insurer, and a complaint about the virtual GP service may involve the service provider as well as the insurer.

The regulatory position also differs between the policy and the services. The policy itself is a regulated insurance contract, with rules on cancellation set out in the FCA's Conduct of Business sourcebook: for a non-distance life policy or pension contract there is generally no right to cancel for a term of six months or less, subject to exceptions, and the rules set out when cancellation rights do and do not apply²³. The added services are not insurance: they are healthcare and support services, and they are not regulated as insurance products. There is no insurance premium tax on life insurance or income protection insurance²⁵, and the tax treatment of the policy, such as the rule that a loss on a life insurance policy cannot be set against a gain on another policy or against other income²⁶, belongs to the policy, not the services.

In practice, this separation means reading two sets of terms: the policy documents for the cover, and the service's terms for the extras. The tax on protection payouts page covers the tax position of the policy itself.

Weighing added benefits when comparing cover

When two policies offer similar cover at similar prices, the added benefits can look like a tiebreaker. They can be, but they should be weighed for what they are.

The core of any protection policy is the cover and the premium. Premiums are based on your age, health and lifestyle³, and any significant pre-existing medical conditions that increase the risk of dying early will also increase premiums³. The payout, when it comes, is what the policy is for: life insurance payouts are not subject to income tax or capital gains tax¹⁴, and it is common to have multiple life insurance policies, either for different purposes or as an additional policy to increase cover²⁰. None of that changes because a policy does or does not include a virtual GP app.

The added benefits, by contrast, are non-contractual and can be withdrawn². A sensible way to weigh them is to ask what each element is worth if it disappeared tomorrow. The cover would still pay out; the services would simply be gone. Some insurers do build contractual value into their products in other ways: Aviva's Over 50s Life Insurance includes an option where the insurer will increase cover by up to 10% to keep a chosen monthly premium, at the point the customer chooses their premium². That is a policy term, not a non-contractual service, and the distinction is exactly the one to look for.

Price differences between policy types can also be smaller than expected. Joint term life insurance is usually slightly cheaper than each partner buying an individual policy, but the price difference is often very small⁹. If a joint policy with a virtual GP service costs about the same as two individual policies without one, the comparison is really about the cover, and the services are a bonus either way.

For help comparing cover without buying anything, buying protection insurance explains how advisers, brokers and direct channels work, and how much life insurance cover do I need? covers the starting point for any comparison: what the cover needs to achieve.