Aviva has entered the group critical illness market with the unveiling of a new product.
The move is consistent with the insurance giant's plan to dominate the protection market, including the group side.
Speaking exclusively to COVER in November, David Barral, executive marketing director at Aviva Life, revealed the provider's intention.
He said: "The protection and health insurance market is becoming more important than it perphaps has been in the past.
"We are in the throes of signing off on our three-year plan and that involves becoming number one in the protection market, full stop."
Customers of the new plan can choose from two levels of cover and it can be purchased on a voluntary or company paid basis.
Either a standard list of illnesses and procedures, or an alternative extended list, may be insured, with a benefit of up to five times the employee's salary, subject to a maximum of £500,000 (gross).
A pre-existing condition exclusion applies, which Aviva claims will reduce administration and simplify the application process by removing the need for full medical underwriting.
The provider also says that an increased customer demand for lower cost employee benefits has prompted this move.
Steve Bridger, head of group risk at Aviva UK Health, said: "Our entry to the group CI market is a natural move which will give intermediaries a wider choice of provider.
"We're using clinical knowledge from our specialist private health insurance claims teams to assist our group income protection business, and tele-interviewing was an approach we took from our individual income protection business and have applied it to group risk."
