Do mental health issues affect your life insurance?
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Mental health illnesses have spiked across the world post COVID and related restrictions. However, though the awareness of mental illness has increased to a large extent compared to the past, it is still a taboo subject in developing countries like India causing most cases to be unreported or unidentified. People with mental health issues ought to have access to reliable and competent health care similar to the care available to people with physical disorders, in order to permanently end the stigma. In a recent report by WHO, it is estimated that one in every eight persons suffers from mental illnesses. It is believed that in India almost 80% of the patients with mental illness do not seek treatment either due to lack of awareness or due to societal pressures or due to non- accessibility of the treatment.
Examples : Simone Biles, 4 times Olympic gold medallist, who was gunning for glory at the world's most prestigious tournament, has pulled out from the team in the finals of the Tokyo Olympics, to prioritise her mental health over a medal. Many Indian celebrities like Deepika Padukone, Anushka Sharma and Honey Singh have openly expressed their mental health issues. Further, it is estimated that depression and anxiety are the most common mental disorders in India.
Being able to identify, accept and convey about mental illness is the first step towards treatment. Whilst awareness about these is much higher than before, the road to having the required focus in terms of health care budgets and fighting the societal taboo is still far.
In 2018 IRDAI issued a welcome directive to cover mental disorders with no discrimination against people suffering from mental illnesses and that they should be assessed in a manner similar to physical disorders - based on the merits of the case and the extent of the condition.
Mental health issues of a person can range from minor and treatable conditions to critical conditions like schizophrenia which significantly impact life insurance underwriting.
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Mental disorders are assessed and treated according to the risk category where the selection of risk profiles with mental health disorders is similar to that of selecting risk profiles with physical disorders. Based on the same the patient is granted life insurance on standard premium rates or with modified terms and the risk can be postponed as well.
The following can be requested by the insurer for assessing the risk profile: insurable interest, need for insurance cover, medical diagnosis of the condition, underlying cause, progress of disease, treatment, lifestyle information, employment details etc. These parameters will help in a fair assessment of the risk and granting the right insurance coverage accordingly.
It also needs to be assessed if the condition impacts the person’s ability to enter into a legally valid contract – a pertinent condition to avail the life insurance.
Author: Casparus J H Kromhout, MD & CEO, Shriram Life Insurance
Topics : Mental health
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First Published: Oct 20 2022 | 4:01 PM IST
