AIA Australia held its first Vitality Summit to explore the role the financial services sector can play in improving the nation’s health.
Held in Sydney in mid-April, the event included an ‘in-the-round’ discussion with seven-member panel, facilitated by Nine Network journalist Sylvia Jeffreys.
The panel included:
- Mark Tucker, Executive Director and Group Chief Executive and President, AIA Group (Hong Kong)
- Damien Mu, CEO of AIA Australia
- Teifi Whatley, Executive General Manager, Customer Experience & Insights at Sunsuper
- Adrian Gore, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Discovery Limited (South Africa)
- Dr Lisa Studdert, First Assistant Secretary of the Federal Department of Health’s Population, Health & Sport Division
- Richard Peil, Co Founder of Anytime Fitness Australia
- Sarah Wilson, New York Times best-selling author and founder of IQuitSugar.com
The panel examined the simple steps consumers can make to improve their health, and the support the financial services can provide to assist them in those efforts.
Of particular interest to financial advisers was Tucker’s comment’s that life insurers needed to move from viewing their task as only paying out on claims to promoting healthier living to offset the social burden of increasing health costs.
“The psychology of the insurance industry has been that if you die or get in an accident – we pay. The psychology needs to move towards that we are there to help you live longer, better and healthier lives, and that is a major change in psychology and direction but is significant as part of supporting the move to wellness,” Tucker said.
He also stated that life insurers had a social responsibility to address issues around avoiding preventable claims due to poor health and lifestyle choices.
“Wellness is about the physical, the psychological, the environmental and the social – they are all different elements but are all equally important.”
“To be a healthier people means a longer life, less susceptibility to illness…it enhances productivity and on corporate basis there is reduced absenteeism, less time off and it comes down to less health care costs for government or they are moved into the private sector, which is a win- win-win model.”
Tucker also stated that insurers had the resources and timeframes to tackle issues around health and wellness and were better placed to do so than other parts of the financial services sector.