Sustainably Protecting Our Mental Health

How are you feeling today? If it seems like Covid-19 has taken a toll on your mental well-being, you are not alone. According to Swiss Re's Global COVID-19 Consumer Survey, a third of people in the US reported a deterioration of their mental health in the last 12 months. These results suggest that even if you yourself are not experiencing mental health challenges, you know and love someone who is. 

As a Swiss Re advocate for sustainability in the life insurance industry in the US, I'm asking myself what our industry can do to sustainably protect our mental health in the coming months and years ahead. Two of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) provide a lens to determine where we must focus to have a long-term positive impact on society.

A key indicator for showing progress here is the reduction in the suicide rate. According to CDC, the number of deaths by suicide in the US declined in 2019 and 2020; yet, nearly 46,000 lives were lost in 2020. Although the downward trend in death by suicide is encouraging, pandemic-related impacts of social isolation, economic decline, and family stress have raised concerns about ongoing suicide risk in the US.

The American Foundation for Suicide has responded by launching a nationwide initiative to reduce the annual rate of US suicide deaths by 20 percent by 2025 with a focus on partnering with others in four areas: firearms, healthcare systems, emergency departments, and corrections systems. Also, the launch of a new suicide and crisis hotline #988 provides people with new access to free and confidential emotional support if they are in distress and need crisis resources. This represents an important breakthrough in crisis prevention.

Life insurance industry action: Meanwhile, insurers can help customers better manager their mental health by leveraging people's increased engagement in digital spaces including the use of health and wellness apps. Recognizing the opportunity, Swiss Re has partnered with Wysa to deliver a mental health engagement app designed to help users reduce the severity of their mental health conditions. This solution has potential to provide a transformative way to reduce early claims and help individuals to live longer, healthier lives. 

In addition, Swiss Re is at the forefront of working with life insurers to implement commercially viable Health & Wellness programs that benefit customers with positive mortality and persistency outcomes that benefit the business. These solutions provide tangible ways for insurers to support Goal #3!

For life insurers, this is a call to action in mental health underwriting. Anxiety, mood, stress, and adjustment disorders are some of the most frequently encountered conditions outside of cardiometabolic risk, and they can be challenging to assess. In addition, mortality impact associated with mental health conditions can vary from minimal to substantial depending on the type of disorder and the type of treatment and support received. A holistic approach to the underwriting of mental health is critical for making sure more people are offered adequate and affordable insurance protection.

Life insurance industry action: In 2021, Swiss Re took on the challenge of providing clearer, simplified, more objective mental health mortality and disability underwriting guidelines in Life Guide which is our market-leading underwriting manual. These guidelines have been developed in the context of Swiss Re's broader evidenced based research on the "Big Six" lifestyle factors, of which mental wellbeing is one key factor.  By updating our mental illness underwriting guidance, we enable life insurers to be as inclusive as possible.