Vitality Health is using big data and the Internet of Things to learn more about customer lifestyles.
A health insurance company is considering using similar tracking concepts to the auto coverage industry. Vitality Health believes that its policyholders will be willing to exchange their healthy lifestyle data for incentives.
The idea is to reward those with healthier lifestyles with discounts, thereby encouraging healthier habits.
The health insurance company is hoping to change the way people are viewing wellness. They are aiming to offer discounts to individuals who live healthier lifestyles. In that way, they pay people to be well as opposed to only paying for healthcare when people fall ill. This breaks away from the way traditional health insurers function.
Vitality Health hopes to accomplish this goal by using technology and data to track healthy behavior. They will then reward those who live the healthiest lifestyles. The health insurer is owned by Discovery Holdings. That international firm has over 4.4 million clients. Vitality has become the first insurance company to reward people for their healthful choices. It sells both health and life insurance.
The health insurance company will use a tech and data-driven approach to encourage people to live healthfully.
The new health insurance coverage approach is centered around technology and data. The health plan member would begin with the development of baseline data. That is done by collecting data regarding certain lifestyle habits and behaviors such as alcohol consumption, smoking, eating habits, and activity levels. That is combined with biometric information about the individual including weight, height, blood pressure and cholesterol levels.
Using that information, the policy member’s Vitality Age is determined. In the United States, the average Vitality Age is higher than their biological age in 79 percent of adults, according to the insurer’s own surveys, said a Forbes report.
From there, the health insurance company provides the policyholder with a Personal Pathway plan. The member can use that information to improve his or her Vitality Age using healthier choices. The member has access to resources, tools, and partners offering discounts to policyholders.
Data is collected via wearable technology, such as any of over 100 smart devices such as the Apple Watch or Fitbit smartwatches. When members improve their Vitality Age, it means that they decrease their risk of certain illnesses, 
which makes them less expensive to insure. Those members are rewarded by the health insurance company with points that can be redeemed for gift certificates and other Vitality partner perks.
