Zurich Financial Services Australia has published its latest findings on the prevalence and financial impact of diseases in Australia.
The report, titled “Cost of Care,” aggregated health and economic data for more than 30 major medical conditions, including:
It examined the prevalence, incidence, and survival rates while providing lifetime and out-of-pocket cost estimates for these conditions.
The report indicated that mental health disorders, such as affective disorders, anxiety, and substance abuse, were the most common conditions from 2020 to 2022, with over 12 million active cases. COVID-19 followed closely, with approximately 11 million reported cases in the same period.
In terms of cancer, the analysis showed an increasing trend in incidence rates for eight out of 10 cancer types since 2018. Notable increases were seen in prostate cancer (+44%), breast cancer (+14%), and melanoma (+27%). Despite this rise, there were slight improvements in survival rates for most cancer types.
The report also detailed lifetime cost estimates for various conditions, with spinal cord injury leading at between $6.8 million and $12.9 million. Childhood cancer has an estimated lifetime cost of $1.09 million, while motor neurone disease (MND) costs around $201,340.
Other prevalent conditions recorded costs such as $143,000 for Type 1 diabetes (lifetime) and $41,748 for chronic kidney disease with kidney failure (average annual cost).
“There is a significant financial burden associated with the treatment of certain medical conditions in Australia. Concerningly, many of these are growing in prevalence against a backdrop of increased cost-of-living pressures and issues with access to insurance,” said Matt Paterson, chief claims officer at Zurich Australia & New Zealand. “As health diagnoses and treatment continue to rapidly advance, this analysis can serve as a useful single source of truth for insurance professionals, financial advisers, and the broader community, assisting individuals and families to make informed decisions to improve their collective health and financial resilience.”
In 2023, Zurich disbursed over $1.53 billion in life insurance claims. Musculoskeletal conditions accounted for $353 million (34% of all claims), cancer claims amounted to $473 million (21%), and mental health claims totalled $256 million (18%).
This year, Zurich teamed up with the University of Technology Sydney to introduce artificial intelligencemodels, aimed at enhancing the life insurance underwriting process. The innovation uses anonymised data from the past seven years of life insurance applications to determine factors associated with mental health exclusions.
“Cost of Care: Volume 2” is the second edition of the report first released by Zurich in 2018. The updated report includes new data and analysis on conditions such as MND and COVID-19, along with a section dedicated to health issues affecting infants and children.
