wearables

While wearables and apps are most closely associated with promoting physical fitness, technology is increasingly being put to use in lifestyle monitoring of the elderly and others in need of care.

For insurers to effectively utilize wearable technology, it is important to understand the metrics captured by devices. Insurers must also be mindful of regulations, set reasonable expectations, and balance the risk and rewards of new developments.This white paper summarizes the considerations.

John Hancock, one of the oldest and largest North American life insurers, will stop underwriting traditional life insurance and instead sell only interactive policies that track fitness and health data through wearable devices and smartphones, the company said on Wednesday.

Customers today are more digitally‐enabled, more health conscious and more demanding of customized products and services that offer greater freedom and flexibility. The insurance industry however often fails to keep pace, and consumers can face multiple pain points in their insurance journey.

Is the promise of wearable technology too good to be true? Inclusion of wearables in life insurance products to date has not matched the interest. But advances hold great promise. RGA’s Julianne Callaway explores the power and perils of these promising devices in Digital Insurance. 

From its earliest days, life insurance has been fueled by data. Today, the industry is more data-driven than ever. Life insurers rely on data to make better operational, risk and pricing decisions. They use data to develop new products and business models. Increasingly, they leverage data to incentivize customers to reduce their exposure to risks and help them avoid incurring losses.

It is well understood that increased physical activity levels are linked with a reduced risk of certain illnesses, leading to improved healthy life expectancy. Wearable devices have also been championed as a way to not only help people track physical activity, but with the right incentives, increase overall activity levels in the short term.

Munich Re assessed the effectiveness of physical activity as measured by wearable sensors in stratifying the mortality risk profile of a U.S. population-based dataset provided by Vivametrica. Munich Re examined the dataset, performed classical actuarial mortality analysis and used survival analysis and machine learning techniques to evaluate the extent to which physical activity predicts mortality.