Intellect CEO and Co-Founder Theodoric Chew and Singlife Head of Innovation and Ecosystems Varun Mittal at the Intellect HQ.
PRESS RELEASE
Singapore, 23 September 2024 – Award-winning mental health company, Intellect, has announced a strategic partnership with leading homegrown financial services company, Singlife, in a pioneering move to redefine the insurance industry, complementing traditional protection with end-to-end care across the full spectrum of mental health. The collaboration marks a significant step towards the integration of mental wellbeing support into insurance coverage, setting a new industry standard for holistic health support.
As the global conversation around mental health continues to grow, Intellect’s ROI study shows that the costs of absenteeism and presenteeism at the workplace due to mental health problems range between S$2.3 billion to S$12.8 billion. Singlife and Intellect share a common vision to maximise efficiencies for employers through investment in accessible, high-quality mental health services. Through this partnership, Singlife policyholders will gain access to Intellect’s award-winning self-care platform, which offers personalised mental health support, including self-care programmes and preventative care tools. Policyholders will also have access to Intellect’s 24/7 helpline, offering multilingual support in 30 languages across 60 countries. Trained responders are available to provide in-the-moment care and de-escalate critical situations.
Varun Mittal, Head of Innovation & Ecosystem at Singlife, said: “Singlife believes in supporting our customers holistically. Aside from physical health, it is equally important to take care of one’s mental wellbeing. We are elated to partner with Intellect to co-curate and launch the first-in-market comprehensive mental wellness proposition under our ‘Benefits XP’ programme. It provides our customers 24/7 access to numerous mental wellbeing resources. This is a significant milestone in our ‘Beyond Insurance’ mission to evolve and advance the future of workplace benefits.”
Intellect’s comprehensive platform is designed to meet users wherever they are on their mental health journeys. With full ownership of wellbeing services across online-to-offline (O2O) platforms, users are able to personalise their wellbeing programmes based on their needs. By making it convenient for users to seek support whenever they need, Intellect’s approach to healthcare is human-centred and technology-driven. It addresses leading contributors to work impairment associated with absenteeism and presenteeism, including stress, burnout, and emotional wellbeing issues.
“Partnering with Singlife represents a significant opportunity to extend our support and impact in a way that aligns with our core mission of making mental health care universally accessible,” said Theodoric Chew, CEO of Intellect. “In today’s world, the importance of mental wellbeing cannot be overstated, and we believe that it should be an integral part of every person’s health journey. By collaborating with Singlife, we are breaking new ground in the insurance industry, ensuring that mental health is no longer treated as a secondary concern, but as a core component of health coverage.”
This partnership reflects a broader trend in the insurance industry, where providers are increasingly recognising the importance of mental health. By integrating Intellect’s services, Singlife is taking a proactive approach to addressing mental health challenges and supporting the overall wellbeing of its policyholders.
About Intellect:
The leading mental health company in Asia Pacific, Intellect’s mission is to redefine mental healthcare regionally and globally. From everyday support to clinical interventions, Intellect grounds its full continuum of care in research, ensuring everyone has easy access to preventive, responsive and personalised mental health care in the moments that matter.
As the most trusted mental healthcare provider in the region, Intellect serves some of the biggest enterprises and organisations in healthcare, government, and education. Online and offline, it has made a difference in the lives of over 3 million users.
Intellect is backed by influential investors including Tiger Global, Insignia Ventures Partners, Y Combinator, HOF Capital, MS&AD Ventures, and East Ventures, alongside prominent venture funds, family offices, big tech executives, and angel investors. In 2023, Intellect was also awarded Human Resources Online’s Best Digital Wellness Platform (Gold).
About Singlife:
Singlife is a leading homegrown financial services company, offering consumers a better way to financial freedom. Through innovative, technology-enabled solutions and a wide range of products and services, Singlife provides consumers control over their financial wellbeing at every stage of their lives.
In addition to a comprehensive suite of insurance plans, employee benefits, partnerships with financial adviser channels and bancassurance, Singlife offers investment and advisory solutions through its GROW with Singlife platform. It also offers the Singlife Account, a mobile-first insurance savings plan.
Singlife is the exclusive insurance provider for the Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Home Affairs and Public Officers Group Insurance Scheme. Singlife is also an official signatory of the United Nations Principles for Sustainable Insurance and the United Nations-supported Principles for Responsible Investment, affirming its commitment to finding a better way to sustainability.
The merger of Aviva Singapore and Singlife was announced in September 2020 and created one of the largest homegrown financial services companies in Singapore in a deal valued at S$3.2 billion. It was the largest insurance deal in Singapore at the time.
Singlife was subsequently acquired by Sumitomo Life in March 2024, one of Japan’s leading life insurers, which valued Singlife at S$4.6 billion, making the transaction one of the largest insurance deals in Southeast Asia.
