Workplace and CTP claims for mental health injuries are rising dramatically, but insurers are finding innovative ways to rehabilitate claimants and help them get back to work and their regular lives as fast as possible, according to the Australia Insurance Law Association (AILA).
Queensland CTP Claims with Suncorp executive manager Kylie Horton and WorkCover Queensland chief legal officer Janine Reid agree the exponential increase in claims may, in part, be because there is now less stigma associated with reporting mental health injuries.
Telehealth consultations, which expanded during the COVID-19 pandemic, have given people in remote and regional areas better access to treatment and may have contributed to increased awareness and a willingness to be transparent about mental health injuries.
WorkCover is implementing risk identification strategies to find people at risk and intervene with support to minimise the potential for claims to escalate in cost and the duration of time claimants are off work. The statutory insurer is piloting an optional psycho-social screening tool with injured workers at SMEs.
A survey asks participating claimants additional questions, which enable claims handlers to eke out answers about issues like, for example, sleep hygiene, which can impact recovery. WorkCover can then provide appropriate external support services. There are plans to scale up the pilot because it can reduce claim durations, which Ms Reid said is “a wise investment”.
Ms Horton said more than 30% of Suncorp CTP claims now include psychiatric injuries. One of the biggest challenges is “trying to address the accident-related psychological symptoms from any longstanding conditions that fall out of scope under Queensland’s CTP legislation”, she said.
However, regardless of the underlying cause, Suncorp will generally “go the extra mile” to ensure people are returned, as closely as possible, to their pre-accident status.
Another problem is a lack of service providers. Being stuck on a waiting list to see a claimant-preferred provider can amplify psychiatric injuries.
Mental health services
Many health practitioners are broadening offerings to include mental health services. For example, Ms Horton said early intervention from physiotherapists qualified to provide mental well-being advice, like anxiety management, can improve outcomes.
“The lack of psychiatrists is a national challenge, but we need to be flexible and tackle injuries from multiple angles, for example, getting mental health-qualified social workers involved,” Ms Horton said.
Ms Reid and Ms Horton will deliver a presentation on the rise in psychiatric injuries at the AILA National Conference on the Gold Coast in September 2024 with the theme “Sunny Side Up”.
Registrations for the conference are now open.