Insurance Day of Giving 2019

In the five months since the Dementia-friendly guide for insurers was published to mark Dementia Action Week 2019, there has been considerable activity to raise awareness. The guide outlines what an organisation can do to raise awareness and create positive change for people affected by dementia.

The Financial Conduct Authority’s consultation on vulnerable customers closed last month* and is currently under review. The responses will hopefully encourage insurers to provide better access to their products and services. There are 850,000 people with dementia in the UK, with numbers set to rise to over 1 million by 2025 (Alzheimer’s Society, 2019) and approximately 20% of people caring for someone with dementia are in paid employment (Cebr, 2019). It is therefore likely that both individuals and businesses will be affected by dementia and its impact.

This consultation has provided the sector with a unique opportunity to review how well they are serving their customers as well as how inclusive they are as an organisation. A dementia diagnosis does not always mean the end of a career. With many people living to an older age, more people will want, and need, to continue to work. Therefore, employment practices need to recognise the workforce of today and tomorrow. The consultation will hopefully encourage insurers to provide better access to their products and services.

Today, 7^th November 2019, is Insurance Day of Giving. This fundraising and awareness day was established to unite the sector against dementia. Last year, 35 firms from across the industry raised over £70,000 for pioneering dementia research. This year, 53 firms have already signed up.

Further details on signing up, can be found here.

Insurance Day of Giving is supporting Insurance United Against Dementia, an Alzheimer’s Society campaign; run in partnership with the insurance sector. The campaign, launched in autumn 2017, aims to raise £10m for Alzheimer’s Society by 2022 and to build awareness of the impact of dementia amongst colleagues and clients. The funds raised will support critical research into the prevention, treatment, care and cure for this devastating condition. Over the last 18 months the campaign has gained great momentum, to date raising £2m with the support companies including Aon, QBE, Crawford, and Sedgwick, to name just a few.

The Chartered Insurance Institute has explored the topic of dementia by publishing podcasts and articles that continue to look at how the sector is improving. Speaking of the CII’s commitment to raising awareness, CEO Sian Fisher said, “As the professional body for insurance and financial planning, we are here to act in the interests of the public. Where it is clear that certain risks in life are not fully understood and more work needs to be done to mitigate those risks, then it is our priority to be part of initiatives that raise awareness and make a positive difference”.  

Recent research has identified a possible therapy that could slow down the development of Alzheimer’s disease. This is a hopeful sign, not just in terms of medication, but that there could be more practical ways to improve the lives of people living with dementia.

The campaign also seeks to create Dementia Friends across the sector. Dementia Friends is an Alzheimer’s Society initiative, which aims to transform the way the nation thinks, acts and talks about the condition. Alzheimer’s Society are currently working with 124 organisations in the finance sector, who have collectively created almost 85,000 Dementia Friends.

By registering your organisation with Dementia Friends, you will get access to resources and information aimed at helping members of your organisation understand dementia and best practice guidance to allow your organisation to work towards becoming dementia friendly.

* https://www.fca.org.uk/publications/guidance-consultations/gc19-3-guidance-firms-fair-treatment-vulnerable-customers