Insurees health concerns, by age
At the recent healthcare insurance conference in Prague, HBI heard about insurees’ concerns by age demographic – and how insurers were striving to address them.
Among those of university age and younger, 46% worry about mental health issue like stress, depression, and burnout. The prominence of these conditions is growing not least due to Covid. Greg Casson from Optum, subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group and pharmacy benefit manager and health care provider, says 44% of workers report daily stress.
Casson’s solution is to provide a more human touch for employees and consumers alike: “Connectivity with apps and self-help guides are important, it’s a great way to reduce the barriers of entry, but having been a service user myself and having experienced what burnout is like, having a resource to speak to a human and engage with them has better outcomes, and it’s easier to give it 100% of your attention when it’s a human. The two do complement each other.”
Among those aged 25-40, the biggest concern was chronic illness such as obesity, diabetes and asthma. This was an even larger concern to those in this age group with families, 59% of whom considered this their greatest concern compared with 41% of those without children. Laurent Pochat-Cottilloux, CEO of reinsurers AXA, said we currently live in a world of energy surplus where consumers eat too much – and exercise too little. More integrated insurance solutions which incentivise prevention is part of the solution.
Of those aged 40-55 with families, 49% worried about being exposed to Covid-19 and other infectious diseases.
Active seniors, aged 50-65, were mostly concerned about relying on third parties to manage their health. Insurers getting more involved in prevention is one solution, as are digital platforms which allow consumers to take a more active, educated role in making choices which enable long term health.
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