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AIA Australia runs with purpose to go the extra mile for mental health
PRESS RELEASE
10 August 2025
3 min read
3 min read
Sydney, 10 August 2025 – Leading life, health and wellbeing insurer, AIA Australia has pledged a new level of support to address the mental health crisis, raising funds and awareness at this year’s City2Surf in Sydney.
As the proud sponsor of Heartbreak Hill for the second year in a row, AIA will be joined by ambassadors Shane Crawford, Sam Gash and Guy Leech who will “go the extra mile for mental health” by running miles on a treadmill stationed at the top of the hill. For every mile, AIA will donate to one of its charity partners, Black Dog Institute.
AIA Australia’s involvement in City2Surf comes as its CEO Damien Mu, recently joined other industry leaders voicing concerns about the prevalence of mental illness in the Australian community, which is leading to a significant increase in Australian’s claiming a disability life insurance benefit and jeopardising the financial wellbeing of Australians.
AIA’s newly released claims data paints a sobering picture:
- Mental health-related disability claims have grown from 15 per cent of all AIA claims in 2014 to 23 per cent in 2024, with 2025 figures continuing to climb
- AIA payments for mental health claims almost doubled from 2023 to 2024: From $280m to $557m
- For Total and Permanent Disablement (TPD) claims* specifically, in the first 5 months of 2025, 28 per cent of claims lodged were mental health related. In 2024, mental health conditions contributed to 27 per cent of all TPD claims lodged
- More than a third (32 per cent) of mental health TPD claimants and 28 per cent of Income Protection claimants in 2024 were under 40
Mr Mu said that while AIA’s claims insights demonstrated concerning increases in mental ill-health, it also signified the enormous potential for positive change.
“As a life and health insurer, we hear the struggles of our customers when they are experiencing mental ill-health and know how devastating that can be for them and their loved ones. Our claims data demonstrates that Australia is facing into a challenging period, so it's vital that we implement strategies that can help change this trajectory.
“While there is no silver bullet, there are many steps we can take to tackle mental health. One of our priorities is to raise awareness and empower more Australians to implement some of the protective behaviours to build their resilience and enhance overall wellbeing.
“Physical activity is a preventative behaviour that supports mental wellbeing. Our research with Quantium Health has highlighted the connection between movement and mental health. People who take 10,000 steps per day have been found to experience half the rate of depression compared to those taking fewer than 2,000 steps. Our research also found that if Australians improved their average health behaviours, the national depression rate could reduce from 6 per cent to 4.7 per cent.
“City2Surf is the world’s largest fun run and each year more than 80,000 people get outside and take part on the 14km course. When training for this event, runners need to focus on improving not only their physical fitness but also building their mental fitness so they can overcome challenges.
“AIA Australia’s purpose is to make a difference in people’s lives. We’re looking forward to City2Surf and will be cheering on runners as they go up Heartbreak Hill, as well as Shane, Sam and Guy on the treadmills - encouraging them to go that extra mile for mental health.”
To find out more, visit: Win on Heartbreak Hill - Let's Run Sydney
ENDS
About AIA Australia
AIA Australia is a leading life insurance specialist with over 50 years’ experience and a purpose to make a difference in people’s lives. In 2014 the company launched AIA Vitality, a world leading, science-based health and wellbeing program, to the Australian market. In July 2017, AIA and its partners launched AIA’s health insurance business, now known as AIA Health Insurance.
In 2021, CommInsure Life was integrated into AIA Australia. The lives of more than 3.1 million Australians are protected and enhanced through AIA Australia’s unique value proposition of life, health and wellbeing. Our vision is to embrace shared value in championing Australia to be the healthiest and best protected nation in the world.
In pursuit of this, AIA Australia has developed AIA Embrace- a comprehensive wellbeing ecosystem of world-class products, programs and partnerships. These are designed to help customers, partners and the broader community to embrace better health and wellbeing.
In offering a broad range of health and wellbeing services to its customers, partners and broader community, AIA is proudly helping people lead healthier, longer, better lives.
AIA Australia is proud to have become a participant of the UN Global Compact in 2025, joining other like-minded organisations who are committed to supporting the sustainable development goals and ensuring a healthier, happier future for all.
AIA Australia has been recognised with multiple awards, including the ANZIIF Life Insurance Company of the Year (2024, 2023, 2022), GoodCompany Award – Top 40 (2024), Women in Finance Employer of the Year Award (2018, 2019), Super Review’s Best Insurer of the Year (2018, 2019), FSC Life Insurance Industry Awards Innovation in Group Life Insurance (2021), Shared Value Awards Organisation of the Year (2020) and Shared Value Project of the Year (2021).
Further information at www.aia.com.au.
Copyright © 2025 AIA Australia Limited (ABN 79 004 837 861 AFSL 230043). This is general information only, without taking into account factors like the objectives, financial situation, needs or personal circumstances of any individual and is not intended to be financial, legal, tax, medical, nutritional, health, fitness or other advice. The source information is current as at 7 August 2025 and may be subject to change. While the information contained herein is believed to be accurate, AIA Australia expressly disclaims any and all liability for representations or warranties, expressed or implied, contained in, or for omissions from, the information.
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