Insurance Companies Offer Discounts For Tracking Fitness
Source：Bloomberg
From：Taiwan Trade Center Chicago
Update Time：2019/01/21
As technology is becoming increasing a part of everyday life it is also becoming a key part of how people stay fit. Life insurance companies are looking to utilize these devices. John Hancock, a subsidiary of Manualife Financial Corp, is rolling out a program to reward customers who develop healthy lifestyles. Customers can choose to opt into the program and earn points for tracking fitness activities such as daily jog or meditation redeem points for purchases on Amazon or other online retailers. In some cases, rewards can even be discounts on premiums.
The program has several benefits for insurance providers. Firstly, exercising regularly means life insurance customers will live longer and delay the insurers pay out. Secondly, customers who are interested in joining the fitness program are likely to already be living healthy lifestyles and are lower risks for insurers. However, the creators of fitness programs like the one used by John Hancock are careful to ensure that there are no penalties for choosing not to participate in the program. Another benefit of the program is it allows insurers to engage with customers more with greater frequency. Finally, life insurers are looking for ways to locate new customers. The number of people purchasing life insurance policies have fallen for years. People who do purchase life insurance are buying online and not engaging with insurance agents. This reduces a customer’s loyalty to an insurer rather than building long-term relationships.
While there are many benefits to insurers and customers alike, it should be noted that some observers are still skeptical. Privacy forums are wary of insurers learning too much about their customers. Guidelines for how companies can use their customers fitness information are on the way. While the collection of data is not inherently bad, insurance is a traditionally conservative industry and has successfully managed handling sensitive data in the past. Only time will tell if customers and insurers want to stick with the program.
Source：https://www.bloomberg.com/asia