Advisers have been urged to talk about mental health early on in conversations with clients as research indicates a reluctance among customers to disclose their conditions to insurers.
The call comes from Scottish Widows and follows findings from a survey by Opinium Research across 2,002 UK adults released by the insurer.
The findings showed 47% of adults surveyed experienced mental health challenges over the pandemic and 30% said they had a mental health condition or had suffered from one in the past.
But just 44% had informed their insurer.
Of those who did not disclose a mental health condition, nearly two-fifths (37%) thought their provider would only be interested in physical illness.
Over a quarter (26%) felt it was personal and so would rather not share their condition with their provider and one in five (18%) worried they would not qualify for a policy or would be charged more.
Consequently, Scottish Widows is stressing the importance of customers being open with their insurer about mental health conditions as it means they are more likely to receive the right support.
Tips for advisers
Providing tips for how advisers should broach the subject of mental health, Rose St Louis, protection director at Scottish Widows told Health & Protection that advisers should discuss the subject in the same way they would physical health and do it early in the conversation.
“That way the client has the opportunity to volunteer information or signal a deeper conversation maybe needed or appreciated to help assess need and provide the right advice,” St Louis (pictured) said.
“If your client does reference mental health conditions, it may be helpful to explain underwriting practices and how these have evolved in recent years to ensure people with mental health conditions can secure cover.
“Take your time with explanations and encourage clients to ask questions so that they thoroughly understand the information they need to disclose when applying for a policy.”
And St Louis added advisers should “talk through the living benefits of policies, so that clients understand that their insurer can even be a source of support and help with current, or future, mental health conditions.”