The COVID-19 pandemic has forced everyone to stay at home and see less of their extended family and friends, taking a toll on people’s mental health. As a result, the number of customers using MLC Life Insurance’s Best Doctors’ Mental Health Navigator has nearly doubled since the beginning of the pandemic.
MLC’s Mental Health Navigator is a specialist mental health service that is available to all MLC Life Insurance customers and their families at no cost. It is offered virtually, and customers do not need to make an insurance claim to use it.
Over 200 MLC Life Insurance customers have now used the mental health service to improve their mental health condition. In the last four months, 21% of all cases registered with Best Doctors related to people seeking expert opinion for a mental health condition, an increase from 11% in 2019.
“There has been a huge demand for mental health services since the beginning of the pandemic as many Australians struggle to cope with emotional and financial pressures,” said Sean Williamson, the chief group insurance officer of MLC Life Insurance.
“Worryingly, we know that 54% of people with mental illness do not access any treatment, and this is worsened by delayed treatment due to serious problems in detection and accurate diagnosis.”
MLC Life Insurance also revealed that 76% of its customers who had severe or extremely severe symptoms of depression at their first appointment experienced a reduction to mild or normal levels after only three months of using the service. Meanwhile, 65% had their diagnosis modified, and 87% modified their treatment.
“We want to help customers better manage and treat their condition. While we’re here to protect our customers financially, we also want to support their health and wellbeing and offer them a tangible solution to help them improve their mental health,” Williamson said.
