Grandparents can now take out health insurance

Grandparents can take health cover for grandchildren

Grandparents can now take out health insurance with Aviva specially tailored to children and their more common ailments.

The move by Aviva comes following evidence of the increased role they are taking in the lives and care of their offspring's children. It found that half of grandparents look after their grandchildren - and most (88%) say it has brought them closer together.

Aviva's Child Health Solutions policies give children access to diagnosis and cover for treatment at private facilities. The scheme includes benefits such as dentistry, physiotherapy and speech therapy that have been specially chosen to complement the paediatric services available on the NHS.

Policies also include cash payments if a child is admitted into an NHS hospital overnight. They cost from £13.63 a month for a single child, with costs reduced if there are more children on the policy.

Rebecca Paterson, head of marketing at Aviva, said that while the NHS is good at providing paediatric care, "we recognise that there are some services which can be complemented by the private sector".

"A growing number of grandparents are playing a more active role in their grandchildren's lives and helping to protect their health is another way they can provide support and peace of mind for their own children," she adds.

Meanwhile, Aviva's latest Health of the Nation survey states that Britons should take more responsibility for their own health as nearly half of GPs (48%) spend a "significant" amount of time with patients who do not look after themselves.