How this insurer helps its employees and S'poreans lead healthier and better lives

In January 2019, AIA Singapore launched the AIA Beyond Critical Care insurance plan, becoming the first insurer to cover mental health in a policy.

The move, says the insurance group, is the first step in acknowledging mental health conditions as legitimate health issues that require treatment and support. It also helps to combat the stigma associated with mental illness, and encourage timely and appropriate treatments.

AIA Singapore saw the take-up rate of its AIA Beyond Critical Care plan during the pandemic more than double in 2021 as compared with the same period in 2020.

"As champions of holistic wellness, we believe that every aspect of our well-being - from physical and financial to mental - is equally vital to living healthier, longer and better lives," says AIA Singapore chief executive Wong Sze Keed. The 52-year-old mother of two, who is the insurer's first female CEO, has long been a champion of mental well-being.

"With one in seven people in Singapore estimated to have experienced a mental disorder in their lifetime, and more individuals working from home reporting higher stress and increased anxiety levels, we are responding to this urgent call to safeguard the nation's mental health, now more than ever," Ms Wong adds.

AIA Singapore is a Champion at the Brands for Good 2021/2022 awards, in the Leadership for Good category. It is awarded to companies or individuals that have shown industry and ethical leadership in making social change.

Since its inception in 1931, AIA Singapore's vision has been to help people lead healthier, longer and better lives. "That guides the decisions we make and the actions that we take as an organisation - offering people tools and resources to help them manage their health and well-being, while meeting their saving and protection needs," says Ms Wong.

A veteran of the financial services sector for nearly 30 years, Ms Wong knew insurance was her calling the day she delivered her first claim to a client.

"When I processed my first claim for a client who had lost his wife during childbirth, I realised just how much insurance can do. It made me want to make a difference," she says.

In good times and bad times

During the pandemic, AIA Singapore rolled out several initiatives that focus on mental wellness. For example, a complimentary four-week Resilience Mindset course for AIA Singapore corporate customers and its employees was extended to more than 1.2 million Singapore workers in November 2020. So far, over 1,370 companies have benefited.

It also provided free Covid-19 coverage for 2.6 million eligible individual customers, corporate members, employees and AIA Singapore Insurance Representatives.

Additionally, AIA Singapore gave its 1,488 employees $1,000 each to help offset the costs of setting up a home office or to cushion any financial impact their families might be facing during this challenging period.

It also offered virtual sessions on mental wellness and fitness and trained 350 managers to help their teams cope with stress and mental health issues. Together with data science and health technology company Holmusk, AIA Singapore introduced a mental wellness self-care app called mHaven.

Besides doubling down on staff welfare, AIA Singapore also ramped up its corporate social responsibility initiatives during the pandemic.

At its annual fundraising last year, AIA Singapore raised more than $350,000 for Children's Wishing Well and VIVA Foundation for Children with Cancer.

In November 2021, the AIA Better Lives Fund was launched to raise funds for disadvantaged youths and children and their families, giving them access to education, growth, development, and employment opportunities for a more productive, healthier and better life.

The Fund will support AIA Singapore's longstanding adopted charity partners - Children's Wishing Well and VIVA Foundation for Children with Cancer - through Community Chest. More charities may be added in the future to assist even more children and families in need.

As part of AIA Singapore's 90th anniversary celebrations in 2021, it conducted the first tokidoki X AIA Better Lives Charity Run from Dec 17, 2021 to Jan 31 this year. The money raised will go into the AIA Better Lives Fund.

Apart from charitable causes, AIA is committed to making Singapore a greener, more sustainable city. It pledged $5 million to the National Parks Board's (NParks) registered charity, Garden City Fund, to plant more trees in the parks and nature reserves over the next five years.

"By supporting causes and such initiatives, we want to enrich lives and fulfil the dreams of future generations," says Ms Wong.