John Hancock – Ecosystem play with Discovery Vitality

John Hancock is the first US life insurance company to offer an integrated health/wellness programme bundled with life insurance component. The wellness program, offered in conjunction with South Africa based Vitality Group, essentially acts as a premium reduction method for policy holders whilst increasing the retention rate and engagement for John Hancock.

A wellness program where they can save on their premiums by adopting healthy habits. If living longer and getting a discount on life insurance wasn’t enough, this program also offers retail discounts and other rewards such as:

• Earn Apple Watch Series 2 for just $25, simply by exercising regularly.
• Complimentary Fitbit device.
• Up to $600 in annual savings on your healthy food purchases.
• Discounts and rewards from Amazon, Hyatt, iTunes, REI, Royal Caribbean International, Whole Foods and more.

With John Hancock’s offering, you can save on your premiums and earn valuable rewards and discounts by simply living a healthy life

The engagement metrics are impressive. The average vitality member engages with the programme 22 times a month, takes 9,000 steps per day compared to the average American at 5,900.The combined rewards and discounts redeemed on hotels, cruises, and entertainment are over $1M.

Now just by opting to embrace healthy habits, customers can lower their premiums and avail other rewards from John Hancock including hotel and flight deals.

Benefit to Customers

• Reliable protection from a company you know and trust
• The opportunity to significantly lower your annual premiums
• Personalised health goals, simple tips, and a free Fitbit® to track your progress
• Entertainment, shopping, and travel rewards and discounts

Benefits to the Insurer

• Better customer engagement
• Loyal customers
• Decreased claims cost
• Inherently appealing to the Millennials

Exercise and health/wellness propositions have become increasingly popular in recent years. Certainly, its easier for life insurers to market themselves on a health wellness basis rather than pure financial; compensation if the worst happens.

Additionally, health/wellness programs align with the new customer expectations where they want insurance to be offered as part of a wider proposition and not an insurance only, fixed choice product. Additionally, the preference to a no hassle, single click buying experience will further evolve platformisation and ecosystem enabled distribution where first movers like Life.io and Dacadoo could take the lead.

Since the success of John Hancock’s Vitality programme, several similar health/wellness programmes have emerged, but the original from Vitality Group and John Hancock is serving as a rare innovation in the life insurance space.

John Hancock Vitality Program

John Hancock Vitality insurance policyholders can now pay for Apple Watch with exercise

John Hancock Becomes the First U.S. Life Insurer to Reward Consumers for Healthy Eating