Raise the Bar on Claims Management – AIA

AIA Australia has called on employers and the life insurance industry to raise the bar when it comes to implementing rehabilitation and other return-to-work programs.

Coinciding with its second annual AIA Australia Group Insurance Summit in Sydney this week, the insurer has joined forces with the SuperFriend Foundation and human capital expert, Dr Sallie Strickland, to publish a white paper which calls for a greater focus and effort in helping people return to their work following a period of disability.

AIA Australia’s General Manager Life Insurance, Damien Mu, said trials conducted by his firm have confirmed rehabilitation opportunities identified through early intervention resulted in an increasing number of employees successfully returning to work:

“If an employee is off work for 20 days, they have a 70% chance of ever returning to work.  If they are off for 45 days, this goes down to 50%, and after 70 days their chance of ever returning to work is only 35%,” he said.

The white paper suggests best practice for employers in implementing return to work programs includes:

1. Maintaining regular contact with the employee while they are on sick leave
2. Encouraging employees to return to work in a partial capacity, if they are able

“Having a workplace support network in place is extremely important for the recovery process, and enhances the chances that an employee will return to work full time,” said Mr Mu.

The white paper highlights increasing stress-related group insurance claims made by superannuation fund members.  Research conducted by SuperFriend (a not-for-profit organisation) reveals the life insurance industry is now paying out more than $160 million per annum in mental illness-related income protection and other disability claims, highlighting a bottom-line issue for both insurers and employers.  But in identifying this growing trend, the white paper also offers a solution.  Quoting studies on this issue, the white paper says that ‘… every dollar spent on identifying, supporting and case-managing employees with mental health issues yields close to a 500% return in improved productivity, through increased work output and reduced leave.

It’s up to the life insurance industry to educate funds and companies on how they can best support RTW practices…

SuperFriend CEO, Margo Lydon, said many employers remain unaware of the benefits that an early intervention return-to-work program could bring, while Mr Mu urged AIA Australia’s superfund partners and Australian companies to play a leading role in helping employees get back to work following illness or injury: “It’s up to the life insurance industry to educate funds and companies on how they can best support RTW practices, ensuring their absence from work doesn’t have a perpetuating effect,” Mr. Mu concluded.

Click here to download the white paper, titled A critical equation: balancing Australian worker health and company wealth.