As AIG Life’s Smart Health service hit 100,000 users since its launch in 2019, data showed that one in eight are uninsured children or people under-18.
User data found that whole families are turning to the on-demand service to access immediate, essential healthcare rather than waiting for a GP appointment or other NHS services.
Families are accessing it through individuals who are insured by AIG, either through personal protection insurance or via a group protection scheme paid for by their employer.
In 2023, one in six (16 percent) of all GP appointments with the service were for young people and nearly one in 10 (9 percent) of the children getting help through a Smart Health GP were aged five or under.
In the same year, two in five people used it three or more times.
Two-thirds of the 100,000 uses can be attributed to group scheme members and their families, which the insurer said suggests that employers are getting the message across to their teams about the benefits available.
Virtual GP appointments were the most popular service, accounting for 67 percent of Smart Health use in 2023. And 19 percent of these appointments happened at the weekend.
Nearly half (43 percent) of GP call requests in December were outside typical working hours (9am to 5pm). AIG said that this shows it is helpful to shift workers, people who don’t want to disrupt their working day or people who may be struggling to get a local GP practice appointment.
In December, 41 percent of people attending a Smart Health GP appointment also got either a prescription, a sick note or a referral to a medical specialist.
A survey of 4,150 individuals who have used the service found the majority of people (55 percent) who used the virtual GP service were also able to stay at home. The survey of Smart Health users was conducted by Teladoc Health UK, which provides Smart Health’s services to AIG Life’s customers.
Teladoc also found that if patients hadn’t used its virtual GPs, 19 percent would have waited until symptoms got worse before they asked for help.
The service helped people return to work sooner with more than half (53 percent) confirming that a remote appointment had meant they hadn’t had to take time off work.
Alison Esson, senior propositions manager at AIG Life, said: “When a person is affected by ill-health, in reality it impacts their whole life balance, including their family and their job, so it makes sense that they’re increasingly turning to on-demand services like Smart Health.
“That Smart Health is being used by the whole family, and how it’s used, shows families want to move quickly to get health matters under control and to restore family equilibrium. They value the convenience.”
