On this page:
- Improving Mental Health Support
- How to Join
- Improve your understanding of Mental Health
- Barriers to Insurance
- How we can help
Improving mental health support
A CII accredited training course helps advisers and ABI members’ frontline staff gain a better understanding of mental health issues, and improves accessibility and support for insurance customers
We know that improving mental health support is a priority for our members and their customers.
We also recognise that many people living with mental illness feel discriminated against because of their mental health and can struggle to find the insurance they want and need.
That’s why we have developed an online mental health training platform to improve frontline colleagues’ understanding of mental health, and the support they can offer, when engaging with customers.
The platform, which has been developed in collaboration with employee health and wellbeing specialists Rightsteps, is designed for use by anyone who talks to insurance customers. It is:
- Free of charge
- CII accredited and can be included as part of your CII / Personal Finance Society CPD requirement, should you consider it relevant to your professional development needs
- Designed to provide practical skills and advice
- Targeted at three mental health skills and knowledge areas
- Easy to complete online in around two hours, or approximately 30 mins per module which can be completed separately
How to join
- Click on the online mental health training platform hosted by Rightsteps
- Click the ‘log in / register’ button located below the available courses
- If you have not already registered, you will be asked to enter some basic information which will enable you to begin the courses
Improve your understanding of mental health
We can help improve customer experience by listening to concerns and offering helpful and relevant insurance advice. Conversations between frontline insurance staff and customers are a vital part of this process.
Our mental health training module for advisers and frontline staff has been developed with the employee health and wellbeing specialists, Rightsteps. The simple, practical, online course is CII accredited and designed to help insurance advisers improve their understanding of mental health and the support they can offer when engaging with customers who disclose a mental health condition.
The course, which takes around two hours to complete, is free and comprises three short modules, which can be completed separately.
1. Introduction to mental health
Increase awareness and understanding of common mental health conditions.
2. Managing conversations
Develop skills for open, honest and effective conversations with insurance customers.
3. Individual vulnerability and crisis management
Improve communication skills to respond to people experiencing a mental health crisis.
We know that improving mental health support is a priority for our members and their customers. In three easy steps, the online training course will help you to understand the mental health challenges customers face, to treat them with empathy, and help them all find the right information and specialist advice on insurance.
Register now to begin your learning journey
Mental health is often a barrier to insurance
Research by Mental Health UK shows:
86% of people affected by mental illness say they don’t know where to go for independent advice on insurance that may involve declaring a mental health condition.
68% believe they have been unfairly discriminated against because of their mental health.
45% say the process of applying for insurance has left them feeling distressed.
56% want insurers to be clear about how an applicant’s mental health will have an impact on their application.
* Research by Mental Health UK
How we can help
By listening, understanding concerns, showing empathy and providing thoughtful advice, we can help all our customers access the insurance they need.
In 2019, ABI figures show that £60.5 million was paid out in Individual Income Protection claims for mental health, with an average claim of £15,728.
We can we all improve our understanding of customers’ mental health and help our advisers and frontline staff become more confident in the support they offer. Our employees and customers will benefit, and business performance will be boosted as a result.
With an open and positive attitude towards mental health, we can all make a big difference – for customers and the insurance industry as a whole.