Sally Phillips

Zurich Financial Services Australia (Zurich) has today launched ‘Zurich Evolve’, a new proposition committed to protecting the health and wellbeing of customers at every stage of their lives.

Zurich Evolve adopts a comprehensive approach to the whole health journey, providing value beyond the scope of traditional insurance cover by delivering practical and personalised support – from prevention to recovery – to ensure customers have the resources they need to feel their best.

The offering provides Zurich and OnePath customers and members with complimentary access to an extensive range of health-related services, including preventive checks to identify potential risks and conditions, such as cancer and mental health concerns. It also offers specialised support and rehabilitation programs addressing cancer management, pain, fatigue, exercise, and mental health.

Recognising the importance of supporting customers through their whole life journey – spanning physical, mental, social and financial wellbeing – Zurich Evolve offers a wealth of additional resources, including financial coaching, grief counselling, and return-to-work support such as business and executive coaching.

Dr Sally Phillips, Head of Health Services, Zurich Australia and New Zealand, said: “Zurich Evolve marks an exciting new chapter as we reaffirm our commitment to help more people live well and enjoy confident lives. By integrating health throughout our business, from product design to claims, Zurich is placing the wellbeing of our customers at its centre.”

“More broadly, it demonstrates the important role insurers can play in prevention, early intervention and wellbeing management, beyond just supporting customers in the event of a claim,” Dr Phillips said.

Customers can access an array of resources and information on Zurich Evolve through the Zurich ‘My Wellbeing Hub‘ and the ‘LiveWell by Zurich’ app, which aims to foster the healthy habits of individuals.

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Dr Bill Monday has been a CMO for 25 years, working with life insurers and reinsurers in Australia and around the world. As CMO, Bill will be responsible for building out an internal team of doctors to provide Zurich with technical expertise across its business. Prior to joining Zurich in a full time role, Bill was a private consultant and worked with many of Australia’s largest life insurers, including Zurich.

Stephanie Pierce has been appointed to Senior Marketing and Communications Manager – Health Services, a role that will see her support the marketing and communications of Zurich’s health and wellbeing initiatives. Previously, Stephanie was a Senior Product & Propositions Marketing Manager; leading the global brand strategy and marketing delivery for Zurich’s health and wellbeing app, LiveWell.

Both Bill and Stephanie will report to Dr Sally Phillips, Head of Health Services, Zurich Life & Investments.

Dr Phillips said Zurich takes a holistic approach to health, with a strong focus on prevention initiatives such as LiveWell and the My Wellbeing Hub as well as supporting community programs such as Tackle Your Feelings and Mr Perfect, which focus on mental wellbeing. “Bill and Stephanie join us to take on two very different and important positions, both of which will further strengthen our holistic approach to health and wellbeing across both Zurich and OnePath,” said Dr Phillips.

“At the core of life insurance is the health and wellbeing of our customers and members, and Bill and Stephanie will help us to deliver on our ambitions to provide flexible solutions and services that support their entire health journey through good and poor health, from taking out a policy, to underwriting and claims, and their path back to wellness,” she added.

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Dr Sally Phillips

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic is testing all of us in ways we’ve never faced before. Our day-to-day lives – the way we work, socialise, eat and exercise – our whole health from physical, mental and financial have all been affected.

Financial advisers are needed more than ever as communities navigate the current circumstances and try to make sense of the impact the virus is having on the economy and their financial situation.

There is no doubt that the new normal of working from home, coupled with social distancing measures makes it harder for you to communicate with your clients – especially those seeking reassurance and guidance during these uncertain times. However, there is a unique opportunity to lead through the disruption and have important ongoing conversations with your clients, playing an active role in their mental and financial wellbeing.

We understand this might not be easy and no matter where you find yourself working, we want you to be well. Here are some ways to look after yourself as you adapt to working from home and move to conducting virtual meetings with clients instead of your usual face-to-face catch-ups. Regardless of what’s happening around us, your physical and mental health remains a priority.

Looking after your physical health

• Good ergonomics –Set up a work environment that lets you thrive. Place your screen at eye level, have your laptop on a stable base (not on your lap), adopt a good sitting posture with your back supported and take regular breaks. This is especially important now your meetings are mostly virtual, and you’re no longer meeting clients face-to-face. Download the helpful checklist from SafeWork NSW on how to set-up your work space from home.
• Keep active – Regular exercise can help boost your body’s defence against infections as well as enhance your mood. Perhaps spend your morning commute going for a walk outside, stand up while talking on the phone or do some stretching to reduce the impact of sitting for too long. You can even try an online exercise class. As a reminder, the World Health Organisation1 recommends we get 150 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity per week^[1] .Importantly, we should minimise long periods of sitting whether working from the office or home.
• Eat well – A healthy diet filled with fruit and vegetables will help to keep your immune system performing at its best. It may be tempting to snack more often when working from home, but it’s important you make healthy food choices that keep your mood and energy high.

Maintaining your mental health

• Stay connected – This will be one of the biggest challenges we face during this time. Social connections play a huge role in our wellbeing, and many of us use our time at work, or on our commute, to have meaningful social connections. Schedule regular meetings with your team and clients via phone or virtual teams. Pick up the phone instead of sending an email or enjoy your morning coffee with your client over Facetime.
• Getting in the zone – There are always things that need to be done around the home, and it can be hard to switch off from ‘home’ to ‘work’ mode. Especially if you are sharing your new workspace with partners and kids. Be disciplined and set boundaries for your working environment. Physical boundaries are great (i.e. desk, study), but mental boundaries can be even more important in uncertain times like these. Try to find activities that bring you into the ‘zone’ of work. It might be mindfulness, a daily to-do list, or putting in your headphones – whatever it is that gives you a mental trigger to ‘switch on’ for the workday ahead.
• Be kind to yourself and others – More than ever, it’s important to take regular breaks within your working day and practice self-care. Read a book, listen to music or mediate. Thrive Inside is a special meditation program by Smiling Mind designed to keep you mentally well while spending extended periods of time at home.

Remember, you’re not in this alone. It’s normal to feel overwhelmed by news of the outbreak and how it’s impacting our lives today and into the future. For additional support and a list of national help lines and websites, please click here.

The year ahead is shaping up to be an even more crucial year for advisers. As an organisation that has continuously been a strong advocate for supporting the advice community, TAL will endeavour to support your health and wellbeing, so you are able to continue to provide strong, considerate advice to your clients

By Dr. Sally Phillips, General Manager Health 

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[1] World Health Organisation, ‘Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health’, https://www.who.int/dietphysicalactivity/factsheet_adults/en/ (Accessed: 1 April 2020)

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Dr Sally Phillips

At present, Australians are spending well over $180 billion annually on healthcare and only 1.34% of that amount – or just over $2 billion annually – is spent on reducing health risks and preventing conditions each year^[1].

Preventative health plays an important role in people’s overall wellbeing, and the rising rate of preventable conditions means the value of prevention programs in enhancing the wellbeing of Australians is more relevant than ever.

At TAL, we look at health holistically, recognising the inter-connectedness of physical health, mental health and financial health.

There’s an opportunity for financial advisers to partner with clients to drive engagement across all three of these pillars and enhance their clients’ health through preventative strategies.

Research commissioned by TAL validated the societal concern that Australians aren’t engaging with their health. While 45% of Australians believe that having a preventative screening test is extremely important to their overall health, the majority of Australians (71%)^[2] admit to not having had one that they believe is relevant to them.

Through TAL Health Sense, we are aiming to encourage Australians to focus on their own health and embrace prevention to achieve long-term wellbeing.

TAL Health Sense is a simple and rewarding program that helps customers take the right health actions and rewards good health across all stages of preventions with discounts on their life insurance premiums linked to screening tests and BMI.

TAL focuses on three key types of prevention, and each plays its own role in contributing to the future health of all Australians:

1. Preventing conditions, or primary prevention – as part of TAL’s Health Sense program, clients with a healthy BMI can obtain discounted premiums for reducing their own health risk;
2. Early detection, or secondary prevention – the Health Sense program also enables clients to obtain a discount on premiums by undergoing any of the government-recommended preventative screening tests every 2 years;
3. Management of conditions, or tertiary prevention – TAL is working on enabling advisers to cover more clients with chronic conditions, such as diabetes mellitus, and offering premium reductions for good condition management.

By understanding all of these prevention stages, advisers can have important ongoing discussions with clients about their health. This can ensure that their health is taken care of at every stage of their customer journey, not just at the application stage.

Empowering clients to take control of their health and wellbeing is a positive step in cultivating a deeper, more engaging and trusted relationship with them.

Together with our adviser partners, we want to play an active role in helping our customers embrace preventative health.

By Dr Sally Phillips, General Manager – Health Services

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[1] http://www.mitchellinstitute.org.au/news/health-system-shake-up/
[2] https://www.tal.com.au/about-us/media-centre/TAL-launches-Health-Sense-Plus-program

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Dr Sally Phillips performs a skin check at Bondi Beach.

TAL, a leading Australian life insurance specialist, has completed the fourth year of its national skin check initiative, TAL SpotChecker, having performed 750 free skin checks for TAL customers and the general public across Australia.

The annual initiative is aimed at raising the awareness of the importance of skin checks as well as self-checking in early detection of skin cancer to encourage and enable more Australians to embrace skin safety and commit to regular skin checks. 

TAL SpotChecker visited three states over the summer, providing 287 skin checks by specialist skin cancer doctors at Bondi Beach, 216 at St Kilda Beach, and 247 at Cottesloe Beach. One in six of the people who received a skin check were referred for further testing. 

To ensure that the initiative achieves scale beyond the pop-up clinics, TAL also created a digital hub of online resources designed to help Australians learn more about skin safety and how to book a professional skin check through its “Find a GP near you” tool.

The online tool allows people to be better connected with local healthcare providers and makes it easier for individuals to book a skin check at their own convenience. Since its launch in November 2019, TAL has seen more than 1,000 unique visitors^[1] to the page. 

TAL General Manager, Health Services, Dr Sally Phillips, said TAL SpotChecker was designed to deliver better health outcomes for all Australians by reinforcing the importance of skin safety and early detection of skin cancers.

“The annual program has continued to drive conversation around preventative health, and in particular regular skin checks all year round, to help tackle one of the nation’s most common cancers.”

“Over the past four years, TAL has provided more than 4,000 free skin checks. We’re proud to have continued our commitment to driving awareness and action amongst Australians around skin safety, and, more broadly, preventative health, which aligns to TAL’s own health philosophy.” 

TAL’s consumer research commissioned in November 2019 found that 87% of Australians have not had a skin check in the past 12 months, with 28% never having had one at all.

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[1] “Unique visitors” refers to the number of distinct individuals visiting a website page. 

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Dr Sally Phillips

TAL, a leading Australian life insurance specialist, yesterday announced the launch of Health Sense Plus – a program that rewards Australians who embrace preventative health by providing discounts on their life insurance premiums.

Health Sense Plus is available to TAL’s Accelerated Protection customers and it builds on TAL’s Health Sense program, which rewards customers for taking care of their health by having a healthy Body Mass Index (BMI).

TAL General Manager, Health Services, Dr Sally Phillips, said, “Health is a key focus for TAL. Together with our adviser partners, we want to empower Australians to live the best life they can through good health.

“Health Sense Plus encourages advisers’ customers to have preventative screening tests by rewarding their commitment to their health with a 5% discount off their lump sum premiums every two years.

“Preventative screening tests are health examinations that aim to identify and reduce the risk of future health conditions. All of the tests in TAL’s Health Sense Plus program have been recommended by the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP), who provide guidelines on what screening tests people should get, based on their age, gender and individual underlying risk.

“TAL research^[1] has found that while 45% of Australians believe that having a preventative screening test is extremely important to their overall health, the majority of Australians (71%) admit to not having had one.

“We believe strongly in the role preventative health plays in our customers’ overall wellbeing, and Health Sense Plus is one way that we can motivate Australians to manage their health through prevention rather than just focusing on treatment,” said Dr Phillips.

Niall McConville, TAL General Manger, Retail Distribution, added, “From an adviser perspective, Health Sense Plus will create opportunities for advisers to have new conversations with their customers as well as play an active role in their health journey.

“Health Sense Plus is one of the ways we are investing in health to help advisers provide the best possible outcomes for their customers as well as grow their businesses.”

In order to be eligible for TAL’s Health Sense Program, customers will need to have confirmation of the preventative screening test (e.g. copy of the GP invoice, Medicare statement, referral letter or GP note) and their BMI must be between 19 and 28. TAL will not collect any information relating to the preventative screening tests.

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[1] The survey was conducted by PureProfile on behalf of TAL, in September 2018, with a nationally representative sample of 1000 respondents in Australia aged 18-65+ years old.

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Dr Sally Phillips performs a skin check at Bondi Beach.

TAL, a leading Australian life insurance specialist, has completed the third year of its national skin check initiative, TAL SpotChecker, providing 1,391 free skin checks across Australia.

Building on the success of the previous two years, TAL SpotChecker aims to get more people talking about and committing to regular skin checks to bridge the gap on both awareness and action and help save more lives.

TAL SpotChecker visited five states over the summer, providing 296 skin checks from specialist skin cancer doctors at Bondi Beach, 256 at Surfer’s Paradise, 301 at Cottesloe Beach, 276 at West Beach in Adelaide and 262 at St Kilda Beach.

TAL General Manager, Health Services, Dr Sally Phillips, said TAL SpotChecker was launched to help tackle an issue that is facing the entire nation, with skin cancer being one of Australia’s most common cancers.

“We know that early detection can literally save a life, which is why we’re continuing to raise awareness around the importance of skin safety.

“We’re pleased to have provided a total of 3,402 free skin checks since launching TAL SpotChecker. This year, we were also able to reach and empower thousands more to check their skin through our partnership with Firstcheck – an app that enables people to get a skin check through their smartphone.

“By using new technologies like Firstcheck, we’re able to scale initiatives such as TAL SpotChecker, to encourage and empower more Australians to embrace preventative health.

“With 1 in 5 of people checked at TAL SpotChecker this summer referred on for further testing, the need to educate people around skin safety is more apparent than ever. Through the TAL SpotChecker movement, we’re encouraging Australians to make a regular habit of self-checking their skin every few months in addition to having an annual professional skin check.”

TAL’s research at the beginning of summer revealed that 29% of Australians have never had a skin check at all, while nearly half (46.8%) of those who attended TAL SpotChecker this summer admitted it was their first time being professionally checked.

For more information, visit www.tal.com.au/tal-spotchecker

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TAL has launched its annual skin-check program last weekend at Bondi Beach.

TAL, a leading Australian life insurance specialist, launched its annual skin-check program, TAL SpotChecker, last weekend at Bondi Beach.

Through TAL SpotChecker, TAL aims to get more people talking about the importance of skin checks in order to bridge the gap on both awareness and action and help save more lives. TAL SpotChecker will provide TAL customers and the general public with free skin checks from specialist skin cancer doctors this summer. TAL has also partnered with Firstcheck this year – an app that enables people to get a skin check through their smartphone – to deliver more skin checks across Australia.

New research from TAL has revealed that nearly half of Australians (45%) are unaware of the high incidence of skin cancer in Australia, leading to millions not getting regular skin checks.

Despite the fact that two in three Australians are expected to be diagnosed with some form of skin cancer during their lifetime^[1], only 36% of people have had a check within the past 12 months with 29% never having had a skin check at all.

The findings spark an important conversation around Australians’ engagement with skin safety in the face of worryingly high incidence rates of skin cancer.

Skin cancer is one of Australia’s most common cancers, but it is also one of the most easily detectable and preventable. With 82% of people surveyed saying they would be more likely to get a skin check if they were encouraged by a friend or family member, TAL is calling on the one in three Australians who have had a skin check in the last year to encourage two of their friends to do the same this summer.

TAL General Manager, Health Services, Dr Sally Phillips said, “Skin cancer is a bigger issue than many Australians realise. Our research found that a large proportion of Australians know that skin cancer is easily treated if diagnosed early, yet most people have not had a skin check in the last year. Early detection can literally save a life, so the TAL SpotChecker movement is calling on those who’ve had a check in the last year to tell two friends to do the same, in order to reach all of Australia.

“While alarming, these statistics also show we are making progress – at the beginning of last summer, 39% of people had never had a skin check, with that number down to 29% this year. The number of people who had a check in the last year has also risen from 29% to 36% in that time.”

The research also showed that nearly 9 in 10 Australians surveyed (88%) know they should check every square inch of their skin for signs of skin cancer, but 72% admit they do not know the four key signs to look for when examining their skin, leading to 29% preferring to get a skin check rather than self-checking.

“There is a clear need to educate people around the signs to watch out for and the importance of regular skin checks because early detection is crucial to reducing the impact of skin cancer,” Dr Phillips said.

TAL SpotChecker is a part of TAL’s broader health focus, which seeks to empower all Australians to take a proactive approach to their health and wellbeing. Alongside the pop-up clinics, TAL SpotChecker will provide resources to help everyone understand the importance of regular skin checks and how to self-check.

“Last year, TAL SpotChecker provided 1,330 people with professional skin checks across Australia and more than half of those had never had a skin check before. It’s great to see awareness is growing and more people have had a skin check in the last year than in 2016 but there is more to do. This year, we look forward to continuing to encourage important conversations around early detection and educating people on how they should self-check as well as get regular skin checks,” said Dr Phillips.

Building on the success from last summer, TAL SpotChecker launched at Bondi Beach for the first weekend of summer (1-2 December 2018), before heading to Surfer’s Paradise on the Gold Coast (8-9 December 2018), and then across to Cottesloe Beach in Perth (12-13 January 2019), followed by Harold and Cynthia Anderson Reserve in Adelaide (19-20 January 2019) and St Kilda Beach in Melbourne (26-27 January 2019).

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[1] https://www.cancer.org.au/about-cancer/types-of-cancer/skin-cancer.html

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Dr Sally Phillips

Over 1,500 advisers across Australia have registered for the 2018 TAL Adviser Roadshows, which begin in Adelaide this Wednesday.

Advisers will be able to exchange insights with members of TAL’s Leadership Team, including Brett Clark, TAL Group CEO and Managing Director, Justin Delaney, TAL Chief Operating Officer, Tim Thorne, TAL Chief Distribution Officer, Niall McConville, TAL General Manager, Retail Distribution, Gavin Teichner, TAL General Manager, Individual Life and Dr. Sally Phillips, TAL General Manager, Health Services.

Dr. Sally Phillips will be speaking to roadshow attendees about how TAL partners with advisers to support their customers’ health and wellbeing.

Dr. Phillips said, “Engaging with customers on their health and wellbeing is one way advisers can deepen their customer relationships while positively impacting the health of their customers.

“With life insurers moving away from a purely transactional model to playing an active role in wellbeing, risk advisers have an opportunity to be a key stakeholder in empowering their customers to think proactively about their health.

“TAL is passionate about enabling advisers to support the health of their customers at every stage of life. One of the ways we do this is by aligning ourselves as closely as possible with the health community and providing advisers with educational tools that they can use to support their customers during their time of need.

“By working together to support our customers’ health and wellbeing, we are creating shared value and partnership through our customers’ entire journey,” she said.

See the full event details or to register for the TAL Adviser Roadshows.

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Dr Sally Phillips

TAL, a leading Australian life insurance specialist, has developed an education course enabling financial advisers to get the best outcomes for clients who are at risk of, or faced with, diabetes.

Similar to TAL’s cancer education course, the diabetes course is run through TAL’s industry-leading Risk Academy and presented by TAL’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr Priya Chagan. It focuses on understanding the prevalence, diagnosis and treatment of diabetes as well as the medical terminology relevant to both underwriting and when assessing product definition requirements at claims time.

TAL General Manager for Health Services, Dr. Sally Phillips, said, “Diabetes currently represents one of the most challenging public health problems of the 21st century, with the total cost for Australians with Type 2 diabetes amounting to more than $6 billion per year.¹

“This course aims to up-skill advisers on the specifics of the medical condition so they can help their clients choose the right insurance cover for their situation at underwriting time and best support clients if they need to claim.

“During the course we also discuss some of the support mechanisms that TAL provides for clients on claim for diabetes, such as information booklets to help them understand their situation and support their return to health.

“By equipping our adviser partners and their clients with this knowledge, we are empowering our customers to live the best life they can through good health” said Dr. Phillips.

The course may be accessed through TAL’s Risk Academy on-demand webinar. The webinar is one hour and carries one CPD point accredited through the Association of Financial Advisers (AFA) and the Financial Planning Association of Australia (FPA).

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