A top executive in Hong Kong for insurance firm Manulife has lashed out at his employer for its “clinically dumb” underwriting policies for people with autism, such as his son.
Damien Green, chairman of Manulife Financial Asia, slammed the company in a social media post on Tuesday, while members of the neurodiverse community told the Post it was not uncommon for insurance companies to decline their applications, calling for more transparency on how each case was assessed.
“Desperately sad and frustrated at the treatment of functioning and healthy autistic people, like my own amazing son, by insurance companies including my own employer, Manulife Hong Kong and Macau,” Green wrote in his post.
“I have tried but the clinically dumb underwriting policies of such companies and their reinsurers are about as relevant as the horse and cart.”
He tagged Roy Gori, president of Manulife, and Phil Witherington, president of the company’s Asia branch, the World Health Organization and two autism concern groups.
Green’s post drew more than 600 reactions as of Thursday evening.
