The Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) has announced additional help for insurance professionals to tackle stress.
Throughout this National Stress Awareness Month, the institute is encouraging its members to access, at no additional cost, the My Healthy Advantage smartphone app.
The app provides a library of wellbeing resources including videos, guides, and webinars on a range of topics to support your mental, physical and financial wellbeing.
The CII added it will also promote how through its partnership with Health Assured, all CII members can access a free 24/7, 365 days a year confidential helpline.
The helpline puts CII members in touch with qualified counsellors and advisers who are be able to support them with counselling support, legal guidance, bereavement support, medical information and much more.
The move follows a social media poll of members conducted in March in which 65% identified heavy workloads as the greatest cause of work-related pressure, with the second biggest cause being limited development opportunities.
Roughly one in 10 of the 2,119 insurance professionals who responded felt regulation was their biggest worry at work and 8% said consumer demands were the greatest cause of stress.
To help those feeling trapped in their current roles due to limited development opportunities, the CII this month launched its FutureMe career development platform for insurance and financial planning professionals.
The CII is also updating and expanding its competency framework – the Professional Map, to help insurance professionals identify the standards of professional competence they need at every stage of their career.
This will include diagnostic tools for individuals and employers to assess their own skills gaps and identify relevant solutions across qualifications, training, online learning and continuing professional development (CPD).
Mark Hutchinson, membership director of the CII, said: “The pressures of the pandemic, competition from contemporaries, job targets and the need to meet various demands at work has amplified stress among insurance professionals in recent years.
“Insurance is essential to everyone who wants to live their lives with protection against whatever the world throws at them. As a result, working in insurance is incredibly rewarding but can also be stressful.
“If you’re stressed, whether by your job or something more personal, the first step to feeling better is to identify the cause and the CII is committed to helping members doing so and show them ways to take action to improve their wellbeing.”