Vitality's Shared-Value Insurance encourages behavior-change to make people healthier
Vitality is the world’s largest behavioral platform linked to financial services, and forms the foundation for insurance and financial services organizations to access Vitality Shared-Value Insurance.
A distinguishing feature of Vitality is the way incentives and financial and lifestyle rewards encourage people to make healthier choices a habit and shift behaviors associated with better health. These healthy behaviors have subsequent positive effects on insurers and society while it addresses the three key areas that have the highest potential to improve health over the long term – nutrition, physical activity and preventive screening.
Behavior change is difficult
People are over-optimistic about their health – discounting the long-term effects of lifestyle choices made today for immediate gratification. Vitality’s antidote to this issue is by using incentives, built on behavioral economics, clinical pathways and funded through actuarial savings.
Shared-Value Insurance: A shift to a new way of insurance globally
Vitality’s integration with insurance products has resulted in a new category of insurance: Vitality Shared-Value Insurance. First applied in South Africa and the United Kingdom by Discovery’s insurance companies, the platform includes a network of the largest insurance companies – representing more than 35% of the global personal protection market. These insurance companies are increasingly recognizing their ability to place a monetary value on people’s health and positive health behavior, with some insurers committing to take on the social responsibility of making people healthier.
By encouraging and rewarding healthy behavior change, insurers experience fewer claims, improved lapse rates and increased profits – these profits generated by improved health in turn fund further incentives that create ongoing behavior change. The result is a virtuous cycle called Shared-Value Insurance, which shares material benefits between the insurer (more profits), clients (greater health and financial rewards) and society (lowered healthcare costs and a healthier, more productive workforce).
The results of Shared-Value Insurance
Insurance is no longer simply protection in case of disease or priced based on an existing condition, but helps people become healthier and rewards improved health achieved through exercise, better nutrition and other lifestyle choices. Shared-Value Insurance makes insurance more affordable and the premiums are under the control of the client. Insurers on the Vitality platform have also seen a substantial change to their businesses through greater returns, increased sales, a healthy and engaged client base, and a visible social impact from positive behavior change. Studies on Vitality have proven its ability to help significantly improve health outcomes and lower insurance costs.