AIA NZ has released its latest Claims Compass, reporting $829.6 million in total claims paid for the year ended December 31 2024, a $95 million increase on the previous year.
The insurer says the big jumps are in:
- Life (up $34.6 million)
- Health (up $23.9 million)
- Trauma insurance claims (up $22.4 million)
It says these are largely driven by rising living, mortgage and healthcare costs.
AIA NZ Chief Customer Officer, Maddie Sherlock says in a statement what the insurer is seeing is the impact of customers’ insurance levels increasing alongside inflation.
“Our products also support sum assured increases for special events like buying a house or having a baby, and for our other products increasing healthcare costs are a significant factor.”
She adds that while customers are seeing the benefit of advances in medical treatments, more treatment options and improved patient experience or outcomes “…these innovations are often at a higher cost than established treatments and are passed onto insurers and customers.”
Sherlock notes AIA is also also seeing growing demand for health services due to an ageing population and growth in chronic diseases.
“In New Zealand, we have observed increased rates of heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and poor mental health, brought about by worsening lifestyle factors such as diet and lack of exercise. These worsening public health trends lead to a higher demand for health services, which puts upward pressure on private health claims.”
Spotlight on Mental Health
In its previous Claims Compass, AIA had highlighted cancer, which in 2023 was responsible for it highest number of insurance claims.
In the 2024 report, it highlights mental health with $25.7 million paid towards mental health related claims in 2024, and $8.1 million for suicide claims.
AIA says the Ministry of Health estimates that around half of New Zealanders may struggle with their mental health at some time in their lives.
“Poor mental health has been identified as one of the five major non-communicable diseases including – cancer, diabetes, respiratory diseases and heart disease that cause over 90% of deaths in New Zealand as unpacked in AIA NZ’s 5590+ report.”
The insurer says the top 2024 AIA mental health claims were:
- Depressive disorders – 44%
- Anxiety/panic disorders – 14%
- Post Traumatic Stress Disorder – 4%
- Chronic Fatigue Syndrome -3%
- Chronic Pain Syndrome – 2%
The company says that the group most affected by – and claiming for mental health related support – are customers aged between 40 and 59 ($17.7 million), particularly men.
Sherlock says this big jump in claims for this age group reflects their life stage “…which is likely to be impacted by the weight of increased family, financial and professional responsibility and high demands upon their time.”
Men aged 40 to 49 ($6.4 million+) and then those aged 50 to 59 ($5.6 million+) have the highest claims for poor mental health. They are also the age group with the highest suicide-related claims.
AIA says that while the number of claims may be lower than for men, this is also a time when women are significantly impacted.
“Many women are entering peri-menopause at this stage of their life which can lead to depressive episodes as they navigate physical and emotional changes, and similar to men, are balancing multiple responsibilities and demands on their time.”
In discussing mental health support, Sherlock says that AIA recognises that mental health exists on a spectrum and periods of distress are a normal part of life and that stress levels shift and change depending upon the life stage.
The company spends more than $1.3 million on rehabilitation each year, with more than 53% of this spent on supporting customers with mental health conditions. This includes funding psychology sessions, occupational therapy and nutritional programmes, and home visits.
Click here to see the full report.
