TAL launches seventh skin safety program

Yasmine Raso

Senior Journalist, Financial Newswire

20 December 2022

Australian life insurer, TAL, has launched its national skin safety initiative, SpotChecker 2022, to encourage community awareness of skin safety practices and preventative health screenings for overall wellbeing.

Now in its seventh year and based at Manly Beach in Sydney, TAL SpotChecker was designed to assist Australians to remain aware and alert to skin safety, to self-check their skin and to have access to professional checks.

The initiative comes as two in three Australians are diagnosed with a form of skin cancer by the age of 70, according to the Cancer Council of Australia’s guide titled ‘Understanding Skin Cancer’, and research conducted by TAL showed the number of people who self-check their skin every two to three months declined by four per cent in the last four years.

“In addition to being more sun safe, such as wearing sunscreen and covering up, it’s equally as important for people to get to know their skin and what looks normal for them by engaging in regular self-checking, in addition to professional skin checks where there is a concern,” Dr Priya Chagan, TAL General Manager of Health Services, said.

“TAL’s 2022 research found that over two thirds (67%) admit they should be self-checking their skin more often. But with 64% saying they don’t know how to self-check their skin, it’s clear there’s still more to be done to support people in committing to skin safety.

“At TAL, we want all our customers to enjoy the very best of life, which is why we encourage them to be proactive about their health and why we are committed to preventative health programs such as TAL SpotChecker.”

More research from a survey commissioned by life insurer also found just under three-quarters of polled Australians said they would feel more confident if they self-checked their skin regularly, despite 23 per cent responding that they never check their skin for signs of skin cancer.

“We have conducted this research over time to better understand behaviour and sentiment in the Australian community regarding skin safety,” Alex Homer, TAL Chief Customer and Brand Officer, said.

“We combine this with our preventative health expertise at TAL to provide relevant support for our partners, customers, and the broader Australian community on this important health matter.

“But there’s still more work to do in raising awareness around skin cancer prevention. Through TAL SpotChecker, we will continue to help inform more Australians about the importance of prevention and early detection in achieving better health outcomes.”