Margo Lydon
Leading international life insurer and reinsurer, Hannover Life Re, has announced the continuation of its partnership with SuperFriend, committing five more years of funding to educate individuals, employers and workplaces about improving and maintaining their mental health and wellbeing.
SuperFriend is a national initiative aimed at improving the mental health and wellbeing of “all profit to member” superannuation fund members, employers and staff. SuperFriend’s mission is to reduce the incidence of suicide and the impact of mental illness on individuals, employers, workplaces, friends and families.
Hannover Life Re has been an active supporter of SuperFriend from its beginnings in 2006. The insurer has also contributed to the development of SuperFriend’s Best Practice Guidelines for the Management of Psychological Claims for the Group Life Sector, which is due for release in the coming months.
Gerd Obertopp, Hannover Life Re’s Managing Director, said the partnership with SuperFriend was a valuable one for the insurer in helping to better educate staff and the broader industry around early intervention for mental illness.
“SuperFriend have done outstanding work over the years with our business as well as partner funds, employers and members, providing initiatives that are evidence-based and focused on preventing mental ill-health and suicide,” said Mr Obertopp.
“They also offer a range of initiatives to assist insurers in dealing with mental health matters, including mental health and wellbeing training for claims teams and management. This provides genuine value to our staff, who in turn can utilise their increased knowledge in assisting members.”
SuperFriend Chief Executive Officer Margo Lydon, said it was terrific to have the ongoing support and partnership with Hannover Life Re.
“This further commitment of funding ensures we can continue our important work in addressing workplace mental health and wellbeing”, said Ms Lydon. “We look forward to working closely with Hannover to achieve further success.”
Over the next five years, SuperFriend will continue to expand the number of workplace mental health and wellbeing programs being delivered into workplaces, undertake research and translate the evidence into practical applications for a range of target audiences and continue the promotion and communication of mental health and wellbeing information.
“We recognise the leadership shown by the All Profit to Member Superannuation Funds and the Group Life Insurance sector in actively supporting and funding SuperFriend, a national mental health foundation. Having partners like Hannover Life Re on board demonstrates the role that each of us can play in making a positive impact on mental health outcomes for Australian workers.” said Ms Lydon.