ANZ launches their OnePath mental and health wellness program.
Mental health and wellness issues are transforming the insurance sector, with more than 23 per cent of income protection claims now involving a mental health condition.
In response, insurers are changing the services they provide and taking a more active role in preventative programs for the wellbeing of their customers.
According to ANZ Wealth Head of Mental Health and Wellness, Life Insurance, Maria Falas, the Australian insurance sector will continue its significant transformation over the next two years in response to this market development.
“Our sector must evolve so it can meet the changing expectations of customers and their needs. There is now an enhanced focus on wellness across the developed world, which is a valuable opportunity for insurers to create deeper and more lasting relationships with customers.
“By focusing on mental and physical wellness, insurers can help provide a pathway to better health for consumers and a more meaningful role in their customers wellbeing.”
Mental health and wellness programs are central to OnePath’s product innovation, adviser support, trustee services and customer experience. According to Mindframe*, every year approximately one in five Australians experience mental illness.
Ms Falas said because the impact of mental health conditions on the community are better communicated and understood today, there is greater demand for insurers to provide more support upstream when customers are well.
“We are continuing our work to better support our customers across the life of a policy to include mental health and wellness, with a focus on health continuum and prevention,” she said. “We consider our customer offering for early engagement in mental health claims to be market leading.”
OnePath’s mental and health wellness program includes:
- Health Coaching – Launched in November 2016, health coaching offers underwritten OneCare customers with a high body mass index or cholesterol/blood-pressure problem the opportunity to reduce their loading with the help of a health coach. To date, 95 per cent of the customers who have used the program have lost weight, with 70 per cent of customers having their loadings reduced and/or removed.
- CaseWorks early engagement program– Customers who notify OnePath of a mental-health claim can get help filling in their claim application, providing them with a more personal service in the comfort of their own homes.
- In November 2017, OnePath launched its mental-health coaching pilot for OneCare income-protection customers, in partnership with Remedy Healthcare. Customers lodging income-protection claims relating to depression or anxiety will be offered a
Remedy Healthcare MindStep™ program. This phone-based support program will be complimentary and individually tailored. They will also be offered the support of a Caseworks registered nurse to visit their home and guide them through their claim application process.
- Doctor-to-doctor interactions – OnePath facilitates doctor-to-doctor case management, providing a centralised service with a customer’s treating doctor to help the customer regain their health and return to wellness sooner.