A new website has been launched to improve access to insurance for sufferers of mental illness.

The website has been created by the Mental Health Council of Australia (MHCA) and national depression initiative Beyondblue, in conjunction with the insurance industry.

The website – www.mentalhealthandinsurance.org.au – contains information on the relationship between mental illness and insurance products, including how mental illness impacts on pricing, applications and claims processes, consumer rights and responsibilities, avenues for complaints and appeals, and relevant disability legislation.

It complements underwriting and consumer guidelines which have previously been developed by the MHCA in partnership with the insurance industry.

“Australians with experience of mental illness are not able to access insurance at the same rates as Australians who have not experienced mental illness,” the MHCA says.

“They often endure increased premiums, restrictions on their policies and outright rejection of their applications and claims when a history of mental illness is disclosed.”

The website was developed after a MHCA survey found mental health sufferers reported a lack of awareness of their rights and responsibilities around insurance applications and claims.

“This one-stop online portal will improve knowledge and awareness of insurance practices for mental health consumers and their carers,” the MCHA says in a statement.