…” That’s been the most important thing; that I can recover from this properly.”

Married with two young children, Tony from Hertfordshire had always considered himself a fit and healthy person who led an active and busy life. When he was diagnosed with a succession of chest infections in the Spring of 2015, Tony just thought himself unusually ill and carried on. By late-June, however, his health had deteriorated significantly and Tony, aged 38, was admitted to hospital.

Tony recalls the speed with which events then unfolded. “I had a bone marrow biopsy the next day and was diagnosed the day after,” he said. “It was so quick. Because I had what’s known as acute leukaemia, they couldn’t mess around. I was transferred to another hospital the same day I was diagnosed and chemotherapy started the following week.”

Tony had taken an individual income protection policy out in 2009. “When the consultant broke the news, my brain went into immediate overdrive on all the practical things and in the first hour I was in contact with the broker I used for the policy,” he recalls.

“I never expected to need it, I always considered it a bit of a waste, yet there I was as someone who hadn’t ever conceived that I would get any significant illness, literally out of the blue I suddenly had.”

Aviva provided Tony’s benefit after a short deferred period, giving him peace of mind that throughout his treatment, a bone marrow transplant and his recovery, he didn’t have to worry about the financial impact of his illness.

“It was an enormous comfort to know that the benefit was there to make sure my wife and family were provided for. Whatever the period of treatment was, it was there to support us” he said.

Tony remained in hospital for the rest of the year. His income protection benefit continued to support him throughout his recovery in 2016. In October 2016, on the anniversary of his transplant, Tony and his wife undertook a very personal challenge to raise money for the Anthony Nolan Trust, which had helped match his bone marrow. The couple raised £17,000 by walking a 75km route that took them to the various hospitals where Tony had been treated.

Tony felt ready to return to work but had concerns because his role in accountancy had been particularly stressful just before he fell ill. Aviva’s rehabilitation team could help him by arranging for specialist support and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. “It was great to have the policy and suddenly it was worth all those years of paying,” said Tony. “It’s been an enormous comfort to know that there’s no pressure financially to get back to work before it’s right to do so. That’s been the most important thing; that I can recover from this properly.”

Tony said the process of claiming at a time of struggle for him was made so easy and this was such a relief. It was done in a very compassionate and understanding way and he never felt any pressure at all as there was an understanding of how long the recovery process would take.

Tony has successfully returned to work part-time and he's working towards a full-time return.

Income protection is a policy designed to replace a proportion of your income if you can’t work and suffer a loss of earning’s due to illness or injury. There is a period before payments are made and this is known as a ‘deferred period’, which is chosen at the policy outset.

For further advice and to discuss the options to protect your future our advisors are on hand to help. You can call us on 0800 612 8005 for a no obligation conversation or provide your contact details here and we'll call you.

With thanks to Aviva for sharing Tony’s story. 
Aviva individual protection claims report | Spring 2017.