The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental wellbeing of people in UK cannot be overstated with several media outlets reporting a significant rise in mental health conditions.

Pre-pandemic, it was reported that one in four of us is affected by a mental health condition but with the impact of the pandemic expected to be felt for years to come, research from the Centre for Mental Health predicts a 33% increase in demand for mental health services over the next three years.

Insurers are seeing this reflected in the insurance applications they are receiving, Scottish Widows saw 15% of applicants in 2020 disclose a mental health condition, and this figure had increases to 27% by 2021.

Research conducted by Mental Health UK in July 2020 showed a clear desire among people living with mental illness to access insurance but found that many people had struggled to navigate the application process. Their research revealed that:

-       86% of people affected by mental illness said they do not know where to go for independent advice on different types of insurance that may involve declaring a mental health condition.

-       Over two-thirds of respondents (68%) believe they were unfairly discriminated against because of their mental health.

-       Nearly half of respondents (45%) said that the process of applying for insurance left them feeling distressed.

How as a firm do we deal with that information:

-       Firstly, knowledge is power, so that fact that we know this issue exists means we can support our clients better.

-       We have done training and sessions with all the providers on our panel, to understand how they deal with mental health in their application process, and what impact a disclosure has. This will help us narrow down which insurer to apply with.

-       We have looked closely at the terms we use in our conversations and thought about the right way to phrase things for our clients, to minimise their distress. A common example is ‘unsuccessful in committing suicide’. Using the word ‘committed’ stems from when suicide was a criminal offence in UK law and ‘unsuccessful’ is also a term to avoid as it implies failure. Instead, we should use ‘attempt on life’.

Maybe most importantly, we let people know that they don’t have to attempt this process themselves, the conversations we provide around this are free, we get paid a commission from the insurance company if a client goes ahead with cover. Before that there is no charge, so we can have an informed, empathetic chat with our clients, ensuring that they are not alone in this journey.