AIG Life’s virtual GP service proves popular in the UK

AIG Life, which is the UK life insurance arm of AIG, offers Smart Health as an additional benefit to its customers, complete with life insurance, critical illness and income protection, and most popularly, a 24/7 virtual GP service that can diagnose cough, cold, flu and fever without the user needing to leave their home.

Indeed, the virtual GP service is the most popular of all the services offered – 58 per cent of the 2,000 uses of Smart Health’s interconnected services (of which there are six) were attributed to the virtual GP service. And AIG Life reveals that the most common categories of ailment (making up over 70 per cent of conversations) were:

1. Cough / cold / flu / high temperature
2. Dermatological / eczema / moles
3. Gastroenteritis / abdominal
4. Neck / back pain / musculoskeletal
5. Sore throat / tonsillitis
6. Head / eye / sinus pain
7. Urology / urinary tract infection
8. Gynaecological / thrush / bacterial vaginosis
9. Mental health concerns
10. Repeat / prescription requests

AIG Life found that after speaking with a UK GP either by phone of video consultation using Smart Health, 54 per cent of people then stayed at home instead of consulting a medical practitioner in person. And, as the industry knows, this is crucial to mitigating the spread of cold and flu viruses.

“Customers who have used the Smart Health 24/7 GP service tell us they find it really valuable when they can’t get an appointment at their local GP practice, can’t take the time out of work or are travelling,” said AIG Life’s Marketing Director Sue Helmont. “It’s especially popular with employees who are insured by us through an employer’s group protection scheme, so I encourage employers to remind their employees that they can use it for advice about any medical issue.”