Changing minds: How can insurers make a difference on the mental health journey?

Sinenhlanhla Sithomo - Head of Insurance Business: Investec Life talks about A December 2021 report by the Chief Risk Officer’s (CRO) Forum shows that over the past decade there has been a significant shift in insurance claims from physical to mental health with ailments such as burnout, anxiety, and depression overtaking musculoskeletal impairments and neurological diseases. With the latest data from the SA College of Applied Psychology indicating that only 27% of severe mental illnesses in the country are treated,  Sithomo says undiagnosed mental health conditions could be a hidden crisis facing the insurance industry. <br /> <br />   <br /> <br /> “As an insurer your biggest risk isn’t actually the people who are disclosing their mental health issues, it’s the people who aren’t aware of their condition and aren’t being treated,” says Sithomo. “Once your mental health claims start ticking up above your musculoskeletal claims your amber flags are no longer amber, they are red flags at that point.” <br /> <br />   <br /> <br /> One challenge for insurers is that developing objective diagnostic measurement tools for mental health conditions is not as cut-and-dried as doing so for medical conditions such as cancer or heart disease. When assessing mental health risk underwriters have to rely on questionnaires, which have traditionally given insufficient consideration to clients’ social support structures, often resulting in adverse underwriting outcomes for applicants that should have been deemed low risk. <br /> <br />   <br /> <br /> “Clients who proactively seek care and disclose a mental health condition also tend to receive harsher underwriting outcomes compared to those who do not seek care and remain undiagnosed,” says Sithomo. “This is why it’s critical that we begin to transform our underwriting protocols and incorporate as many of the biopsychosocial factors in risk assessment for clients with mental health conditions.” <br /> <br />   <br /> <br /> Interestingly, Sithomo says the catalyst for placing grea