Zurich launches bereavement support for three million UK customers

Zurich has partnered with loss support platform Empathy to provide over three million life protection customers access to bereavement services. 

As a part of this service, retail protection customers and employees of corporate risk customers will have access to personalised care plans, dedicated care managers for personalised guidance and digital tools to help manage emotional and practical pressures that follow the death of their loved one. 

From June 2026, the insurer’s empathy loss support will be expanded to those who are diagnosed with a terminal illness. 

According to Empathy, the service saves families on average 148 hours of administrative work and around £2,319 in costs for tasks such as probate and estate administration, funeral logistics or closing digital accounts and subscriptions.  

Louise Colley, managing director at Zurich UK, said: “When it comes to loss and bereavement, grief is just the beginning.

”There are funeral logistics, probate and estate administration, digital accounts to close and more when your life has just been turned upside down. Empathy’s services will provide our customers with the human care and digital tools to manage all this and more, so that people don’t feel forced to move on but really helped to move forward.   

Expansion

The move marks an expansion of Zurich’s customer support.

To support this expansion, the insurer’s UK-based claims handlers and protection consultants will receive 60 hours of specialist bereavement training to ensure customers receive compassionate and knowledgeable support.

Following the UK launch, Zurich intends to expand empathy loss support to other markets as part of a global roll out strategy. 

Ron Gura, co-founder and chief executive at Empathy, said: “Partnering with Zurich is a significant milestone in our mission to transform the way families navigate life’s most challenging moments – from loss and bereavement to the many complexities that follow.

”Bringing that support to millions of families across the UK, at the scale this partnership makes possible, is something we’re incredibly proud of. This is what meaningful, compassionate care looks like in practice.”