AXA upgrades "Mind Health" programme for its corporate customers with digital wellness tools and exclusive partnerships to provide mental health support under the pandemic

HONG KONG, May 6, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Built upon the successful launch of its market-first employee mental health programme "Mind Health" last year, which heightened the awareness of its Employee Benefits customers on mental health, AXA Hong Kong announced a full upgrade of this programme to better address the increasing needs in society. This is especially timely considering the recent outbreak of COVID-19, which has triggered an unprecedented deterioration in mental health caused by social distancing and fears around uncertainty and infection.

AXA Hong Kong announced a full upgrade of its employee mental health programme “Mind Health”, providing mental health support to corporate customers and their employees under the pandemic.

"The outbreak of COVID-19 has negatively affected businesses, people's livelihoods and the wider economy. Many employees may feel stressed or anxious during this challenging period. Besides maintaining physical health, it is also crucial to improve mental wellbeing. Employees have always been the most important assets of a company and therefore an employer should provide its employees with sufficient support to overcome the current difficulties. AXA Hong Kong has fully upgraded our 'Mind Health' programme and is committed to helping our corporate customers and their employees to gain positivity under today's adverse conditions. In addition to supporting the employees of our corporate customers, this programme also helps to enhance the work efficiency of the participating companies to achieve a win-win," said Dr Koh Yi Mien, Managing Director of Health and Employee Benefits of AXA Hong Kong and Macau.

As one of AXA's corporate customers, Deloitte Hong Kong - a global professional services network, joined the "Mind Health" Programme.  They believe that their employees can attain the best state of physical and mental health and work effectively, through leveraging the array of services in this comprehensive employee benefit programme.

"The health and safety of our people have always been our top priority, and we are constantly looking for ways to ensure we give them the best working environment and necessary support. We first spoke to AXA about its 'Mind Health' initiative before the outbreak. It's a meaningful programme that not only benefits our people and their families, but also society at large. We are glad to have had this new and innovative programme in place during such a critical period, to enhance people's mental health and encourage them to stay positive. This further demonstrates our '4+1' culture of Courage, Innovation, Inclusion, Wellbeing + Integrity across the firm as we empower our people with enhanced skills and mindsets to address future workplace challenges," said Edward Au, Southern Region Managing Partner, Deloitte China.

First launched in October 2019, AXA Mind Health offers a comprehensive and one-stop mental health programme for corporations in Hong Kong, aiming to bring accessible, engaging and effective mental health support to its customers and their employees under the Employees Benefits Plan. The new upgrades in services cover three important aspects ranging from Education to Prevention to Support. These new services include a suite of user-centric and always-on digital tools for understanding and relieving stress, a brand-new "AXA Mind Health Network" to provide professional treatment, and a concierge-like support service, named "Programme Assistance for HR", for human resources professionals.

• Education: "Programme Assistance for HR" is a newly-added feature to the programme. Companies that enrol are provided with a single point of contact to help them promote and communicate the programme to their employees. This service will also provide valuable analytics reports on its digital wellness tools in order to keep track of employee engagement and evaluate the effectiveness of the programme. Besides, AXA Hong Kong arranges mental health Lunch and Learn sessions and invites a variety of experts to conduct talks and share real-life cases around mental wellbeing.
• Prevention: Employees of companies who join the programme can access health information and learn good practices, such as mindfulness and meditation, anytime, anywhere through the integrated e-Service platform "EMMA by AXA". With the help of international advisors, the programme has curated three of the best apps for workplace wellness – Mental Health Guru, Moodgym and Smiling Mind. Users have free access to these tools and learn how to strengthen resilience and prevent depression and anxiety.
• Support: "AXA Mind Health Network" is newly set up and is run in partnership with Gleneagles Hong Kong Hospital. AXA Mind Health users can access the exclusive AXA Mind Health Network which provides fast-track "priority" access and preferential rates to a comprehensive range of personalised treatments and support packages delivered by experienced mental health specialists. In addition, employees of companies which join the programme can also seek help from experienced coaches for private guidance or access the "Oxford VR" virtual reality therapy to help manage their mental stress.

Furthermore, in the face of challenges under the current pandemic, AXA Hong Kong is striving to go the extra mile to promote mental wellbeing beyond its corporate customers to the wider public. The company will distribute 1,500 free booklets about mindfulness and positivity by popular cartoon creators, Dustykid. Titled "Let Our Heart Breathe", the booklets are given to local charities aiming to generate positive energy within the community and foster collective optimism in the face of adversity.

To know more about the "AXA Mind Health Programme", please visit: https://www.axa.com.hk/en/mind-health-programme.

The above information is for reference only. For details on product features, content, terms and exclusions, please refer to the relevant product brochure.

About AXA Hong Kong and Macau

AXA Hong Kong and Macau, a member of the AXA Group, prides itself on serving over 1.5 million customers ^[1] with our superior products and services. AXA is the top-tier life insurer in Hong Kong with the longest history ^[2]. In addition to being the No. 1 global Property & Casualty commercial lines insurer ^[3], we are the No. 1 most considered insurance brand in Hong Kong ^[4]. We are also one of the largest health protection providers in Hong Kong and Macau.

AXA is one of the most diversified insurers, providing a full range of coverage for individual and commercial customers. We offer all-round, integrated solutions across Life, Health and Property & Casualty to address all our customers' insurance needs.

As an innovative insurer, we leverage on Big Data and AI to transform the customer experience end-to-end, making insurance simpler and more personal. We continue to drive innovation notably in health and protection, supporting customers in prevention, treatment and recovery.

 We also believe it is our inherent responsibility to support the communities in which we operate. AXA Foundation is our flagship corporate social responsibility programme covering all our efforts in promoting holistic wellbeing and supporting the underprivileged to create a positive and lasting impact in the communities of Hong Kong and Macau.

This Press Release is Available on AXA's Website: axa.com.hk

Important Legal Information and Cautionary Statements Concerning Forward-looking Statements

Certain statements contained herein may be forward-looking statements including, but not limited to, statements that are predictions of or indicate future events, trends, plans or objectives. Undue reliance should not be placed on such statements because, by their nature, they are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties and can be affected by other factors that could cause AXA's actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. Please refer to Part 4 - "Risk factors and risk management" of AXA's Universal Registration Document for the year ended December 31, 2019, for a description of certain important factors, risks and uncertainties that may affect AXA's business, and/or results of operations. AXA undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any of these forward-looking statements, whether to reflect new information, future events or circumstances or otherwise, except as part of applicable regulatory or legal obligations

Photo - https://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20200506/2796191-1?lang=0