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Level 46, Gateway Building, 1 Macquarie Place, Sydney NSW 2000
T: 61 2 8274 8600
Splash Pacific Life Re Australia’s Quarterly Newsletter
Volume 6, February 2019
A message from our Managing Director Andrew Gill
Welcome to Splash, Pacific Life Re Australia’s quarterly newsletter. Like the rest of the industry, 2018 was
challenging, yet an exciting year for us, as our Sydney team expanded, new partnerships were forged and
we celebrated our sixth implementation of our Underwriting Rules Engine for insurers in Australia and New
Zealand. We also commenced pilot testing for our Claims Rules Engine with an Australian insurer and
envisage a busy year rolling out this exciting new technology!
In this edition of Splash, we share some findings from consumer research we had commissioned, and an
article from our CMO and Senior Medical Services Consultant on eating disorders and their effect on
underwriting. We hope you enjoy reading Splash and welcome any feedback or questions!
Latest news Pacific Life Re Australia
⎯ Pacific Life Re Australia’s Movember team managed to raise over $11,000 at the end of last year, with funds going towards
addressing some of the biggest health issues faced by men. Thank you to all of our friends, family, colleagues and clients
who generously donated!
⎯ UnderwriteMe’s Underwriting Rules Engine, powered by Pacific Life Re, launched to the New Zealand market late last year
with Cigna Life Insurance.
⎯ We bolstered our mental health capability with the hire of Donna Earsman into the role of Senior Medical Services
Consultant. Donna will be involved in the management of mental health claims and with the development of strong
mental health governance.
⎯ Our Head of Client Solutions, Tyson Johnston, presented on member engagement at ASFA’s Spotlight on Insurance in Super
event on Monday 25th February at Sofitel Sydney Wentworth.
Research Australian Consumer Insurance Landscape
We wanted to gauge the insurance needs of everyday Australians as well as their appetite for purchasing and retaining life
insurance policies, so we had a third party conduct consumer research across a range of policy and non-policy holders. Below are
some key takeaways from initial findings that are part of a broader ongoing research project. Please speak to Tyson Johnston for
further information.
Cheap prices are less important to
consumers, if an insurer has a trustworthy
brand and good customer service,
which are the most important factors to
people when considering life insurance
Most Australians
would prefer to
receive an insurance
pay-out in
instalments over a
lump sum
… and there is a
large appetite for
financial advice and
support to be
provided alongside a
pay-out
Australian consumers’ first preference
for buying life insurance is online but
face-to-face interactions with financial
advisers do still clearly play an
important role in the marketplace
49%
34%
Takeaways
• You don’t need to have the cheapest price if you have
a strong brand and online customer service platforms
• There is still appetite for product innovation and we
should take a simple approach, considering features
that our customers really care about
Level 46, Gateway Building, 1 Macquarie Place, Sydney NSW 2000
T: 61 2 8274 8600
Splash Pacific Life Re Australia’s Quarterly Newsletter
Volume 6, February 2019
Mental Health Guideline Review
Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Bill Monday & Senior Medical Services Consultant, Donna Earsman
Would you like to get in touch?
If you would like to talk about how we can support your business, please contact [email protected].
For media enquiries please contact Andrew Gill, Managing Director, at [email protected]
Our team are conducting a review of
our current mental health guidelines,
which includes the topic of eating
disorders. The revised guidelines will be
reflected in our underwriting of such
disorders. With this review being a key
focus for the business, we have decided
to work with clinicians at the coalface,
such as Professor Janice Russell at Royal
Prince Alfred Hospital. Professor Russell is
a highly regarded psychiatrist and
physician.
Eating disorders impair the overall
quality of an individual’s life, affecting
their home, work, personal and social
life as well as having harmful physical
consequences. They are associated
with psychiatric co-morbidities such as
major depression, anxiety, alcohol and
substance abuse and suicidality. A
significant complication for underwriting
is that a person may present late for
treatment of an eating disorder by
which time there may even suffer from
cardiac or gast ro intest inal
complications.
Anorexia Nervosa illness dates back to
the 1600s and there are two types
Anorexia Nervosa – Restrictive and
Binge eating. The severity of the illness is
linked to the body Mass Index (BMI.) A
healthy BMI is 18.5 -24.9.
In November 2018, the Australian
Federal government increased the
Medicare session for psychological
support from 10-30 sessions and has
increased dietician sessions. This requires
a referral by a GP or a mental health
practitioner. This increase in sessions
reflects the seriousness of the illness both
from a physical and mental health
perspective.
Professor Janice Russel highlighted a
range of unique eating disorders that
present many new underwriting
challenges, with the following being the
most notable:
Me Too Eating Disorders
There is a growing number of “Me-too”
eating disordered people. These are
people who are not truly eating
disordered but have personality
vulnerabilities that manifest in either
restrictive or binge-purge eating.
Palliative Eating Disorder
Referring to patients that are treatment
resistant or have decided that they no
longer want to live and are now
accessing palliative care for their eating
disorders.
Tardive Eating Disorder
This term refers to late onset anorexia
disorders, which usually manifest after
the age of 25. These typically develop in
people that get married and find the
relationship underwhelming, or with
people dealing with divorce. It is often
associated with significant depressive
symptoms and suicidality.
Binge Eating Disorder
Occurring in 10% of obesity clinics with
male to female ratio being equal, with
50% having medical complications i.e.
cardiovascular disease, type two
diabetes and elevated cholesterol
levels .
Professor Russell also interestingly noted
that there is a link to autism and eating
disorders and research also supports a
genetic link to eating disorders.
This research is part of an ongoing
project to ensure Pacific Life Re meets
the best practise standards for mental
health claims and mental health
governance.
