Shane Fielding

SuperFriend – a not for profit mental health foundation formed by Industry Super Funds and their insurers – today released a ground breaking study into the real cost and level of insurance claims relating to mental illness and suicide.

In association with IFS Insurance Solutions, SuperFriend collected data from 13 ‘all profit to member’ super funds and six major group insurers over a five year period from 2007 to 2011, covering 4.1 million members.

The Super Mental Illness National Data (SuperMIND) Project showed that over a five year period claims related to suicide collectively cost the super funds’ insurers over $200 million with an average cost per claim of $120,410. Mental illness-related Total and Permanent Disablement (TPD) claims cost $147.9 million, at an average cost per claim of $82,960.

SuperMIND analyses claims related to mental illness, both TPD and Income Protection (IP), and suicide by gender, age and location, with the aim to help ‘all profit to member’ superannuation funds – and their insurers – better understand claim trends related to mental illness and suicide, and to target support for members.

The research found claims attributed to mental illness and suicide represent approximately 10% of all insurance claims within super. In some age groups this rises even higher, with suicide accounting for nearly 26% of all male death claims in the 25-34 age group and mental illness accounting for 25% of all female TPD claims in the same age group.

“The SuperMIND research reinforces the reality that mental health and wellbeing is a risk management issue not just for super funds and their insurers but for government, employers and the broader community,” SuperFriend CEO Margo Lydon said.

“Mental illness-related claims are one of the few insurance claim types that a fund and their insurer can influence, lessen and ideally prevent if detected early. By providing participating funds tailored SuperMIND reports that track their results against the benchmark, this research aims to help funds better understand and identify where issues are happening – by age, gender or location. Funds and their insurers can then actively develop early intervention strategies to help reduce the financial and social impact of mental illness and ultimately better support their members’ wellbeing.”

Other key findings from the research, included:

• Mental Illness-related Total and Permanent Disablement (TPD) claim rates peaked for males aged 50-54 and females aged 55-59
• Mental Illness-related TPD Claim rates were higher for men than women at all age groups between 15 and 64 and in most locations.
• Mental Illness-related IP Claim rates were higher for men than women at all age groups between 15 and 64, except in the 55-59 age group.
• Claim rates for suicide were around five times higher for men than women – a trend that reflects the higher suicide rate of males in the broader community.
• Victoria and Queensland had claim rates for suicide that were almost double the claim rates of other locations.
• Victoria and Queensland had claim rates for both mental illness-related TPD and IP that were higher than the claim rates of most other locations.

Big data helps super funds drive solutions

Shane Fielding, Principal of Group Risk at IFS Insurance Solutions, who analysed the data, said while there has been significant focus on the impact of increased claims on the cost of insurance within superannuation – with premiums rising anywhere from 30% to 150% over the past 18 months – this is the first time data had been collected and benchmarked to identify trends and help drive solutions beyond price increases to manage the increasing rate of claims.

“While insurers do need to think about how they price their offer, product design and the claim process is equally as important when it comes to claims related to mental illness,” Mr Fielding said.

The project does not aim to answer why certain trends have occurred but rather provides the most detailed analysis yet of what is happening and where it is happening in terms of mental illness and suicide claims for Australia’s ‘all profit to member’ superannuation sector.

“The financial and social impact of mental illness and suicide is significant and reinforces the need for preventative measures through greater member and employer engagement and education as well as early intervention, rehabilitation programs and wellness initiatives to help members stay in work or return to work sooner,” Ms Lydon concluded.

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Graeme Russell

Media Super, an industry super fund for print, media, entertainment and arts professionals, today announced that it has joined SuperFriend, the Industry Funds Forum Mental Health Foundation.

SuperFriend is a national initiative aimed at improving the mental health and wellbeing of industry 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.

The Foundation’s role is to collaborate and partner with a range of organisations, including recognised mental health service providers, to facilitate the delivery of mental health information, initiatives, programs and referral pathways to assist industry fund members, employers and staff.

Media Super has more than 110,000 members and 14,000 employers and is dedicated to employees in Australia’s print, media, creative and digital sectors. It is the 18th industry superannuation fund to join the industry’s not-for-profit mental health initiative.

“SuperFriend is an important industry initiative that helps raise awareness of the impact that mental health issues and suicide has in the community,” said Media Super CEO Graeme Russell.

“We welcome Media Super as SuperFriend’s newest partner fund and look forward to working closely with their members and employer partners, to promote better mental health and wellbeing,” said SuperFriend chief executive, Margo Lydon.

“We are dedicated to delivering workplace mental health and wellbeing initiatives that make a real difference in people’s lives. It is through the collective and ongoing support by our partners, that demonstrates considerable commitment to improving mental health and wellbeing for the many members and employers that they represent.”

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