We can make a difference
Whenever the media attends the release of claims statistics from major insurers, the causes of disabilities and critical illnesses remain mostly the same.
But while cancer and musculoskeletal issues remain a perpetual worry for insurers, mental health issues were slowly increasing in prominence.
Global trends
South Africa is known as a country where the public takes their jobs very seriously and works very hard to earn a living.
Because of this, bearing in mind the pressures that are associated with the current economic climate, mental fatigue is something that many South Africans must deal with on an increasing basis.
But are we alone in this? A recent report by RGA shows that we are not.
Speaking at RGA Client Seminar, Dr Adela Osman – Chief Medical Research Officer at RGA – pointed out that in Canada, mental illness currently contributes 29% towards claims in the life sector.
This is a bit lower south of the border in the US where mental illness only contributes 10% towards claims in the life sector. However, Dr Osman pointed out that this may be because there are a lot of restrictions when it comes to claiming in the US.
One of the countries where the rate of mental illness is high is in Australia where 25% of claims in the life sector are a result of mental illness. However, research into rehabilitation from mental illness in Australia is cutting edge and people tend to recover from these illnesses a lot quicker and can be back at work sooner.
The local landscape
What is the situation in South Africa? Are the global trends pertinent in our market?
Dr Osman pointed out that South Africa has a lower prevalence of mental issues.
“According to research done in the South African market, mental illness only contributes between eight and ten percent to claims in the local life sector. Where it is prevalent is in the financial services sector which contributes 20% towards the mental illness claims. This is mainly because of the economic climate that we work in where claims underwriters have to deal with policyholders who will not take no for an answer when it comes to claims,” said Dr Osman.
Medical interventions
Even though we are (thankfully) behind the curve when it comes to global mental illness claims trends, we cannot take our eyes off the ball as this has the potential to change in a very short space of time.
This is where precision medicine has a major role to play. “Scientific development when it comes to treating mental illness is developing at a rapid pace. We are now aware of the markers which cause mental illnesses and we can pre-empt the cause of a disease or manage a disease in its early stages,” said Dr Osman.
She added that an example of this is depression; recent studies have shown that certain cases of depression are inflammatory diseases which can be treated with anti-inflammatory medication.
However, just as not all diseases are the same, not all patients are the same either. In the past, mental illnesses used to be treated in the same way. Research has now shown that genetic markers can give doctors specific insights into how an individual patient should be treated.
“Pharmacogenetics allows patients to get the right dose of medication at the right time. If you could go upfront and find the medication that suits you, imagine the impact that this will have on claims?” asked Dr Osman.
This is potentially ground breaking for the life insurance industry who could, in future, very well encourage policyholders to participate in this kind of research. However, Dr Osman BREAK warns that we must not put the cart before the horse just yet.
“Pharmacogenetics is in its very early stages, and the costs associated with it are high. International insurers are keeping an eye on the development of pharmacogenetics in cancer treatments, and when it becomes more common, it may develop to the stage where insurers just cannot ignore it. However, we must not get ahead of ourselves,” said Dr Osman.
Creative space
As pointed out earlier, research done in Australia has shown that early intervention and treatment of mental illnesses can benefit all the parties involved.
One of the major ways of treating mental illness Down Under is through counselling and the provision of leave in order to have a full recovery and a successful reintroduction to the workplace where they can be productive.
In the past, we have spoken about employee benefits and how they can be used to retain top talent within companies. In cases where mental illnesses have the potential to increase, is this not the perfect opportunity for employers to start offering employee benefits around illnesses such as stress, hypertension, depression and mental fatigue?
Editor’s Thoughts:
There is a lot of campaigns around cancer awareness. How many campaigns are there when it comes to mental illnesses such as fatigue, stress and depression? We need to raise the profile of this disease and the insurance industry has a vital role to play in this. Please comment below, interact with us on Twitter at @fanews_online or email me your thoughts [email protected].
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