The growing need for client support in mental health
Vikki Harrison
Marketing Manager
From preventative support to quick and easy access to treatment when needed, advisers are ideally positioned to ensure clients’ mental health is fully covered. The widespread challenges of recent years, including the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, have significantly impacted the nation’s mental health. Concurrently, unprecedented demand on the NHS has led to longer waiting lists and delays in accessing therapy.
Mental illness remains the most common condition on insurance applications and has been for over a decade. It’s well known that approximately one in four people in the UK will experience a mental health condition each year1. However, this statistic mainly reflects diagnosed conditions, suggesting the actual number could be higher when including undiagnosed cases.
Attitudes towards mental health have shifted dramatically. As times have changed, the industry has adapted with enhancements in underwriting philosophies to ensure more people with mental health conditions can access protection policies. In fact, most people with mental health conditions can obtain coverage, often on standard terms. Depression, anxiety, and stress are common in everyday life, but people experience them to varying degrees. Underwriting data from Scottish Widows indicates these conditions constitute the majority of mental health disclosures on applications4.
The current strain on Mental Health Services
In 2023, the UK saw a record number of mental health referrals, totalling 5 million appointments2.
This surge highlights the strain on the NHS and UK businesses, which face prolonged staff absences due to inadequate mental health support. The cost of poor mental health to employers has now reached approximately £51 billion per year3.
Depression, anxiety, and stress are the most common mental health conditions disclosed on insurance applications. Understanding the nuances of these conditions is important:
- Depression: Characterized by persistent low mood, depression can interfere with daily life. It can also manifest as short-term episodes, particularly following bereavement.
- Anxiety: Involves feelings of worry, fear, or nervousness. When these feelings persist, worsen, or lack a clear cause, they can become problematic.
- Stress: Results from excessive mental or emotional pressure. Prolonged stress can significantly impact mental health.
Children’s Mental Health
Children’s mental health is another critical area of concern. In 2023, one in five children and young people had a probable mental health disorder, and 75% of mental illnesses begin before age 245. Early support is essential, especially given that 40,000 children experienced waits of over two years for specialist mental health care in 20246. Protection policies can help clients access support services for their families, providing interim assistance while waiting for NHS services.
How can advisers help their client’s get the cover they need?
Be Prepared: Early in the application process, clients will be asked about their mental health history, including hospital treatments, referrals to psychiatrists, and any suicide attempts. It is important to address these questions clearly and sensitively.
By understanding the complexities of mental health conditions and the current challenges in accessing care, advisers can better support their clients and help them navigate the available resources.
Keep an open mind: Many clients believe that disclosing a mental health condition will prevent them from obtaining insurance coverage. However, we have made recent improvements that have resulted in less customers referred for manual underwriting and more standard rate decisions. In Q4 2024, our data shows that 98% of applications with a mental health disclosure were accepted with 90% being accepted on standard rates7.
Engage clients with the health and wellbeing services they can access with their policy
If we think of health and wellbeing support services as simple add-ons to protection insurance, rather than an integral part of it, we’re missing the point.
The need for information, understanding and solutions to mental health issues has rapidly increased over the last few years.
Health and wellbeing services can also help with prevention of more serious symptoms. Getting access to mental health support early can help reduce problems with work, school and family whether that be a course of counselling or one to one support from a mental health nurse for more complex mental health issues.
Health and wellbeing support services focused on health and lifestyle, along with responsible employment policies, can help your clients and their families get support sooner.
To help clients make the most of their health and wellbeing services, and to help remind them that they have them, get the services set up for your clients there and then - downloading any apps and making sure they know the relevant telephone numbers. It’s also a reason to keep in contact with your clients and remind them of the services they, and their families have access to.
By understanding the complexities of mental health conditions and the current challenges in accessing care, both providers and advisers can better support clients and help them navigate the available resources sooner.
Sources
2number of mental health referrals 2023 uk - Google Search
3Poor mental health costs UK employers £51 billion a year for employees | Deloitte UK
4SW underwriting data 2024
5NHS England » One in five children and young people had a probable mental disorder in 2023
7Scottish Widows Mental Health disclosures data Q4 2024