Suicide rate hits five-year high - Industry reaction

'Be wary of knee-jerk reactions'

Adam Saville
clock • 7 min read

COVER reaches out to three thought-leaders to discuss how our industry can tackle the suicide problem

Yesterday's news that UK suicide rates had reached their highest rate since 2002 provided yet more concrete evidence of the worsening state of Britain's mental health.   For obvious reasons, suicide has been a prickly subject for the life insurance industry, with the topic being regarded in the past as a kind of taboo. On the one hand, traditionally insurers have understandably eyed those with a history of poor mental health as a potential risk, with one or two year clauses being placed into policies to avoid suicidal people taking out life cover with questionable intentions.   In rec...

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