Gulf's employees look to group medical insurance top ups for mental health issues: GIG

Dubai: Employees in the Gulf are hoping for more top ups on their group medical insurance coverage policies, especially when it comes to mental health issues that they confront.

This would lead to ‘employer-driven initiatives’ such as regular health checks, stress management programmes, and even wellness workshops. Plus, any digital tools such as mental wellbeing and fitness apps were areas where ‘employees would like to see greater support from their employers’.

These are based on the first ‘wellbeing report’ done by Gulf Insurance Group based on feedback from respondents in the GCC as well as those in Egypt and Jordan.

Post-Covid, bigger enterprises have extended more mental health solutions for their staff. Insurers on their part have also redrawn their medical policies to better factor in such requirements. According to healthcare industry sources, this is very much a work in progress.

Based on GIG report, “While 82% of respondents reported positive overall wellbeing and 84% rated their mental wellbeing as good, 65% acknowledged facing mental health challenges in the year preceding our survey,” said Khaled Saoud Al Hasan, Vice-Chairman and CEO, Gulf Insurance Group.

“Even more notably, 62% of those who reported mental health challenges based their responses on self-diagnosis, suggesting opportunities for better awareness and understanding of mental wellbeing in the region.”

Worryingly, up to 35% of respondents in some countries were ‘unsure of where to seek help, underscoring an urgent need for enhanced communication and support structures’, added Al Hasan.”