Fin services must reduce mental health stigma
Speaking at the MetLife discussion panel, Margo Lydon, SuperFriend chief executive officer said the financial services industry needs to have an open conversation about mental health to reduce stigma.
“With a quarter suffering high stress and a third concerned about job security, financial services workers are a vulnerable group,” Lydon said.
“People need to be able to talk about what’s going on, they need support from leadership, and leaders themselves need training and resources.”
Superfriend’s SuperMIND research also showed over a five-year period claims related to suicide collectively cost the industry over $200 million per annum, with an average cost per claim of $120,410.
Insurers and super funds were seeing an increase of mental health claims, but were advised not to overlook the wellbeing of their own people.
Mark Raberger, MetLife chief claims officer and panel facilitator, said training is important to help employees protect their own mental wellbeing.
“At MetLife, we’ve seen a substantial increase in Mental Health claims, with 25 per cent of our Income Protection and 21 per cent of our total and permanent disability claims having a primary mental health-related cause,” Raberger said.
“This has effectively doubled over the past six years and it is likely to continue to increase if we don’t take action.”
Recommended for you
A NSW adviser who advised over 120 clients after falsifying her financial advice exam results been permanently banned by ASIC.
ASIC has released the results from the latest financial adviser exam, the first to be run since changes to its structure earlier this year.
Sharing his reasoning in joining the FSC board, WT Financial managing director, Keith Cullen, believes “product and advice cannot be separated” from each other in the current environment.
The Emerge Foundation, a charity run by financial advisers and fund managers, has announced a scholarship program to help veterans transition into tertiary education.
