The Morrison-Joyce Government has gone missing when action has been needed in the life insurance sector to help support vulnerable Australians seeking mental health support.
A new report from the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) shows that Australians who have previously sought mental health treatment are facing life insurance exclusions covering all mental illnesses.
The Mental Health Discrimination in Insurance report also found that life insurance policies are being cancelled or claims denied due to perceived failures to disclose existing mental health conditions.
The Morrison-Joyce Government is allowing the life insurance sector to use blanket exemptions for people who had a mental health consultation.
Australians should not be excluded from vital life insurance cover or forced to pay too much because of blanket exemptions for mental health, including when no diagnosis of a mental health condition has been received.
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Australians should be encouraged to get help and consult medical professionals if they are having a mental health episode.
Australians struggling with their mental health and the impacts of the pandemic must not be shut out from the life insurance market because of yet more inaction from the Morrison-Joyce Government.
