Australian life insurer TAL has announced the launch of the TAL Risk Academy “Client Care” Series, featuring new content designed to provide advisers with tools to support their clients’ mental health and wellbeing.
The series will commence on 13 September in the lead up to mental health awareness month in October.
According to the firm, courses will count towards advisers’ CPD requirements, and will also feature two webinars that will then be made available for “on demand” delivery.
TAL also clarified that the series will be jointly headed up by its head of mental health, Glenn Baird, and mental health coordinator, Vaish Harishanker.
Speaking on the launch, Mr Baird said that having conversations with vulnerable or at-risk clients can be emotionally demanding and challenging for advisers.
“It can be difficult to have conversations around sensitive topics but there are certain skills and tools which can assist,” Mr Baird said.
“At the same time, the groups of clients that we might consider vulnerable and in need of additional support have continued to change, particularly post-COVID.
“These two modules have been designed to help advisers identify and support vulnerable or at-risk clients and understand the options for enhancing their access to support.”
The first webinar, to launch on 13 September, will focus on understanding and identifying indicators that might suggest that a person is at a heightened risk of self-harm, and will feature discussions on how to connect at-risk and vulnerable clients with the help they need.
The second webinar, set to launch on 20 September, goes further to provide attendees with a framework for identifying and effectively communicating with vulnerable groups in their client base through a person-centred approach.
“As an organisation committed to supporting the health and financial wellbeing of Australians, our in-house health services team plays an active role in enhancing advisers’ level of understanding and knowledge around mental health, to help them feel more confident supporting clients who may be vulnerable,” Mr Baird added.
TAL confirmed that the need for adviser-focused education on mental health is reflected in its recent survey of Australian financial advisers, where 68 per cent of respondents claimed that receiving training on how to support their clients going through an emotional time would help them provide the best possible service to clients during the claims process.
Moreover, close to half (43 per cent) of advisers said they don’t always know what to say when dealing with bereaved clients, while 42 per cent are concerned they might upset clients who are making life insurance claims.
