General Insurance Article - Aegon gets behind organ donor awareness campaign

 Stephen Crosbie, Protection Director at Aegon UK, said: “We take the subject of organ donation very seriously. The medical knowledge to transplant organs already exists and it’s everyone’s job to promote this cause to save more lives. Aegon has provided customers with CI cover for major organ transplants for several years now.

 “We have several customers on the transplant waiting list. Through their CI policies, we’ve been able to support them financially during this difficult time, but they desperately need to find a match – and the more organ donors that are available, the more likely this will be.

 “We want to highlight that donating organs doesn’t have to be limited to after you die, organs from living donors can save valuable time for those on the transplant waiting list. For example there is a chronic shortage of kidney donors. According to the NHS living donor kidney transplants offer the best opportunity of success, as living donor kidneys last longer and work better.

 “We added donor cover to our CI policy in June in recognition of the impact donating an organ can have on the donor. Living organ donors can experience a similar recovery period and physical as well as financial struggle to the person receiving the transplant. Giving an organ to a family member is a major decision and people will not be motivated by the money, but this coverage means donors can benefit from some financial support to help them through their recovery after the operation.”

 Andy Walton, Protection Sales Director at Intrinsic Financial Services said: “The unique Aegon donor cover is a great example of an insurer trying to think outside of the box and add a ‘warm’ benefit that enables a policyholder, who is making a brave decision to donate an organ to a family member, the comfort of knowing that a small lump sum is available to help them through a stressful time. This is the type of innovative thinking that’s needed to ensure that we continue to close the protection gap.”

 Full details can be found here