Swiss Re write about Health and Wellness engagement impacts
Swiss Re have published a report on how to engage customers with a health and wellness programme. They write how the proliferation of health apps and wearables has led to consumers having more data about their health and lifestyle than ever before. Two thirds of consumers are open to sharing personal data or health results in return for a benefit, whether that’s personalised health advice, discounts or something else.
For insurers there are many benefits, from increasing the frequency of touchpoints, building customer loyalty and maximising lifetime customer value. For consumers the benefits include more relevant products, better price points, meaningful financial incentives and rewards and, best of all, improved health and longevity.
Swiss Re calculated that a successful program with a 25% engagement rate can be ROI positive, after accounting for the costs of launching and running the health and wellness engagement programme including policyholder rewards, premium reductions, initial setup costs and ongoing costs. If engagement rises to 40%, profitability can be up to 9% higher compared to not having a programme in place.
John Hancock in the USA is hiring behavioural scientists and drawing on gamification elements to help encourage policyholders to lead healthier lives. For example, when customers hit an activity threshold they can spin a wheel to win rewards.
Insurance Thought Leadership discuss the success of the Vitality programme. Vitality aims to increase people’s healthspan, the time in a person’s life where they experience optimal health, through a behaviour change incentive programme. Policyholders are nudged towards healthier lifestyle choices that they’re rewarded for in various ways including discounted premiums, discounts at places like gyms and free health checks. They list benefits of the programme to the insurer including reduced frequency and severity of claims, high engagement of policyholders and high levels of retention. Over the last three decades,
“Discovery's three-decade journey provides robust evidence that a significant increase in the level of physical activity reduces by 49% the mortality for individuals aged 45 to 65, and a remarkable 61% reduction for those older. Positive impacts have further manifested within annual medical expenditures, where the most engaged participants have 15% lower claim costs than the less engaged, risk-adjusted by age and medical conditions. A longitudinal study on the people who showed a low level of physical activity during the initial six-month period showed a subsequent 14% reduction in hospital medical costs for the subgroup that notably elevated their engagement levels over the ensuing four and a half years.”
AIA NZ have recently released statistics on how AIA Vitality has contributed to notable shifts in health metrics. By September 2023 there was a 20% increase in members moving from an unhealthy body mass index (BMI) range to a healthier one. Similarly, there was a 51% improvement in blood pressure levels, 26% in cholesterol levels, and 81% in glucose levels.