Heir of the iDog
Peter Hamilton
Head of Market Engagement at Zurich Insurance Company Ltd; Government Disability and Access Ambassador for the Insurance Sector
The article below first appeared in Cover and looks at the importance of the Insurance Day of Giving (iDOG), run by Insurance United Against Dementia (IUAD), in helping to support not just those living with dementia, but the families impacted by the condition.
The dog in question is the insurance Day Of Giving (iDOG for short), run by Insurance United Against Dementia. It's on 1 December, but anyone going to the COVER Excellence Awards ceremony on 1 November will hear more about how we have the opportunity to create a lasting legacy.
Insurance United Against Dementia (IUAD)?is an Alzheimer's Society movement created and championed by the insurance industry, and so far it's raised a staggering ￡7 million, on its way to a target of ￡10 million.
Most of that has so far come from the general insurance side of the business. The money raised is being spent on the vital support services that Alzheimer's Society run, such as their brilliant Dementia Advisers, and it also funds crucial research.
Dementia is a devastating condition that strips away people's memories and connections to the world. Right now, there is no cure for the condition. Alzheimer's Society believe that 209,600 people will develop dementia this year - that's one person every three minutes.
Research is vitally important to the dementia landscape - providing more accurate diagnosis, helping to make care as good as it possibly can be, identifying drugs that can help to improve the daily symptoms for those living with dementia and helping identify risk factors which may help with prevention or early detection.
What I wish people knew about dementia
There are over 42,000 people under 65 with dementia in the UK (young-onset dementia).?Wendy Mitchell, who was diagnosed with young onset dementia at the age of 58, talks of?how there are so many preconceptions to overcome.
The idea that someone with dementia could write a book is just one of them, but she has, and ‘What I wish people knew about dementia' is warm, positive and inspiring, showing there are many different facets, from one who really knows.
Dementia, she makes clear, is not just about memory, it's about changes to our senses, our emotions, our communication. It's about our environment, inside and out. There are reflections in there too on ‘wanderers.'
She says in the book: "Before their diagnosis, they might just be known as ‘walkers'. People with dementia have a purpose, even though it may not be obvious to others…"
We don't have to wait for a miracle drug before making interventions that can improve someone's life. I'd recommend this uplifting and practical book as a fantastic gateway - it's almost a travel book.
Wendy herself says it's for "those who are living with the disease, someone supporting a person with the disease, a professional working in the field, or just a curious individual who believes that empathy and inclusivity is better for all of us."?It shouldn't be hard to sign up to the latter.
Moved at the movies
In one of those windows between lockdowns, I went to the cinema to see ‘The Father'. I've never been so moved by a film.?Anthony Hopkins gives an outstanding performance as a man with dementia seeing the threads of his life start to fray and unravel, and the impact on his daughter, played by Olivia Coleman.?
There are some clever directorial moves, as we are presented with shifting scenery and disorienting time lapses through the eyes of the protagonist, not quite sure what we are seeing, or why some things aren't in the same place as they were a short while back.?
I went with my daughter and the most wrenching scenes (for me at least) are those where you see the impact on the daughter's life as she wrestles with what to do next. The simple lesson was that it's a disease with wide impacts.?I might imagine I can cope with what could happen to me - reflecting on the impact it could have on my children was what made me leave the cinema emotionally wrung out.
As Wendy's book makes clear, it's not automatically the end of life, but can be the start of a very different one. That said, for many, the disease has a devastating personal impact, but also far-reaching consequences for society as a whole - it currently costs the UK economy over ￡34bn every year.?
The Insurance Day of Giving
The Insurance Day of Giving is a chance for the insurance sector to unite for a day to raise awareness of and funds for dementia.?Almost half of the 300,000 of us working in the UK insurance sector will be affected in our lifetime, either directly or through a loved one.
IUAD are hoping companies and individuals will be able to raise awareness and pledge support on 01 December.?You can find?more detail here?or you?can get in touch with the IUAD team ([email protected]) for more information on upcoming ‘lunch and learn' webinars and other ways to get involved - including a virtual balloon race.
Or you can talk to me or Rose St Louis, Protection Director at Scottish Widows - we're both on the IUAD board and both passionate supporters.
Creating a legacy
Last year, the Insurance Day of Giving raised ￡148,000 for vital research and services to support even more people affected by dementia. It would be great if the protection side of our industry could be part of that legacy, and if you needed any other incentive, Zurich Community Trust is matching pound for pound anything raised up to a total of ￡100,000.?And, of course many, thanks to COVER for supporting IUAD at the Excellence awards on 1 November.