Life insurers need to rethink mental health underwriting as mental ill-health becomes one of the most pressing health issues of the time, actuaries have warned. The message emerged from presentations to the Actuarial Society of South Africa (ASSA) conference this year and last, and from an article in the society's latest magazine.
More than one in eight people worldwide, or one billion, have a diagnosable mental health condition, according to World Health Organisation figures cited by Nick Wells, senior marketing actuary at Swiss Re Africa. Moreover, Swiss Re's Dr Moritz Drefs told last year's conference that mental ill-health is the biggest global trigger of disability claims.
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