TAL calls on Australians to embrace sun safety with a skin check this summer
2017 -• 71% of Australians have not had a professional skin check in the last year and 39% have never had a skin check, despite 95% understanding the importance of sun safety [1]
• Two in three Australians will be diagnosed with some form of skin cancer before they’re 70 [2]
• TAL SpotChecker initiative brings to life a winning idea from the TAL Innovation Challenge
Australia’s leading life insurance specialist, TAL, is calling on Australians to embrace sun safety and enjoy their summer with confidence by committing to a skin check from a qualified professional.
Through an initiative called TAL SpotChecker, TAL is launching a series of pop-up clinics that offer its customers and the general public free skin checks from skin cancer doctors as well as resources to help everyone better understand sun safety at some of Australia’s most iconic locations this summer.
Launching at Bondi Beach for the first weekend of summer (2-3 December 2017), TAL SpotChecker will then head to Surfer’s Paradise on the Gold Coast (16-17 December 2017), before moving down to Federation Square in Melbourne (27-28 January 2018), followed by Henley Beach in Adelaide (10-11 February 2018) and City Beach in Perth (24-25 February 2018).
TAL General Manager, Health Services, Dr Sally Phillips, said TAL SpotChecker aims to raise awareness of the importance of prevention in living a healthy life.
“Skin cancer is one of Australia’s most common cancers, with almost 14,000 people affected every year [3], but it is also one of the most easily detectable and preventable. Through TAL SpotChecker, we’re aiming to reduce the impact of skin cancer through increased awareness and action around skin checks.”
Research from the Cancer Council shows that early detection of skin cancer can increase chances of successful treatment. However, new TAL research has uncovered that 71% of Australians have not had a professional skin check in the last year and 39% have never had a skin check, despite 95% understanding the importance of sun safety [1].Dr Phillips said the idea for TAL SpotChecker came out of TAL’s annual Innovation Challenge, with the idea initially coming from a TAL employee.
“The innovation challenge is one way that we continue challenging ourselves to aim higher at TAL,” she said.
“Following that innovation challenge in 2016, we piloted TAL SpotChecker last year on a small scale in Bondi and Newcastle. Over two weekends, we provided free professional skin checks to 681 Australians and we referred 14% of participants for further skin checks.
“In Newcastle last year, 1 in 3 of the TAL SpotChecker attendees said it was their first ever professional skin check and it was that insight that told us this was something worth pursuing and investing in on a larger scale, and a cause worth getting behind.
“TAL is always looking for new ways to protect this Australian life, and helping Australians understand sun safety to embrace the summer with confidence is one of them.
“In the coming months, we’ll also be working with our brand partner the Royal Flying Doctor Service, to take TAL SpotChecker across the country with the aim of checking over 27,000 Australians this year,” Dr Phillips said.
TAL SpotChecker is a part of TAL’s broader health focus, which seeks to empower all Australians to take a proactive approach to their health and wellbeing.
For more information, visit www.tal.com.au/tal-spotchecker.
[1] Survey conducted by Edentify. Sample size of 1,000 men and women, aged 18-65+ in Australia, November 2017