Client wellness programs can be improved, survey says

Strategic Insight’s survey asked more than 200 advisers what life insurers should be doing to promote client health and wellness programs.

Only 14 per cent of respondents believe life companies are already doing a good job with their health and wellness programs.

The survey divided the other 86 per cent of responses suggesting improvements into three broad categories: implementation, areas for improvement and visibility.

Visibility received the largest response from advisers, with 41 per cent of advisers suggesting visibility-related improvements.

Ten per cent of those responses related to advertising, 14 per cent said they were unaware of health and wellness programs offered by life insurers, while the remaining 17 per cent within that category were unsure of what to suggest for improvements.

Twenty-eight per cent of responses suggested implementation-related improvements for health and wellness programs.

Discounts to premiums were the most commonly suggested improvement in this category, cited by 20 per cent of advisers, while more wellness activities accounted for the remaining eight per cent.

“Affordability of premiums is an important issue, [by] linking identifiable actual client health measures to discounted premiums,” the report said.

“Other ideas include yearly reassessments to show health improvement and discounts to clients who do not claim due to health issues.”

The last 16 per cent of responses related to improving the design of the programs, covering areas such as administration and communication support.