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Major life insurer says it will require customers to wear health trackers
NBC "News" ^ | September 20, 2018 | by Reuters

Posted on 09/20/2018 12:34:06 PM PDT by Oldeconomybuyer

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.

The move by the 156-year-old insurer, owned by Canada's Manulife Financial Corp, marks a major shift for the company, which unveiled its first interactive life insurance policy in 2015. It is now applying the model across all of its life coverage.

Interactive life insurance, pioneered by John Hancock's partner the Vitality Group, is already well-established in South Africa and Britain and is becoming more widespread in the United States.

Policyholders score premium discounts for hitting exercise targets tracked on wearable devices such as a Fitbit or Apple Watch and get gift cards for retail stores and other perks by logging their workouts and healthy food purchases in an app.

In theory, everybody wins, as policyholders are incentivized to adopt healthy habits and insurance companies collect more premiums and pay less in claims if customers live longer.

(Excerpt) Read more at nbcnews.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Constitution/Conservatism; Culture/Society; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: applewatch; canada; fitbit; insurance; johnhancock; manulife; privacy; vitalitygroup
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1 posted on 09/20/2018 12:34:06 PM PDT by Oldeconomybuyer
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To: Oldeconomybuyer

Bye bye, John Hancock.


2 posted on 09/20/2018 12:35:59 PM PDT by Afterguard (Deplorable me!)
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To: Oldeconomybuyer

The Mark of the Beast is here.


3 posted on 09/20/2018 12:36:06 PM PDT by kaehurowing
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To: Oldeconomybuyer

WTF???


4 posted on 09/20/2018 12:36:27 PM PDT by nutmeg
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To: Afterguard

Ironically named after a man who risked death to take a stand for PERSONAL FREEDOM.


5 posted on 09/20/2018 12:36:51 PM PDT by Buckeye McFrog
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To: Oldeconomybuyer

             

6 posted on 09/20/2018 12:37:01 PM PDT by tomkat (devout curmudgeon)
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To: Oldeconomybuyer

I never thought I’d be happy to be in the later years of my life, but I am.


7 posted on 09/20/2018 12:37:24 PM PDT by brownsfan (Behold, the power of government cheese.)
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To: Oldeconomybuyer

If they’re sure they want digital feedback on physical data, I have a couple digits they’re welcome to check out. One on each hand!


8 posted on 09/20/2018 12:37:45 PM PDT by Still Thinking (Freedom is NOT a loophole!)
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To: Afterguard

FAKE NEWS headline.


9 posted on 09/20/2018 12:38:03 PM PDT by TexasGator (Z1)
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To: Oldeconomybuyer

Part of me likes the responsibility for healthy life style being thrust upon the insurance consumer, but I hate the invasion of privacy.


10 posted on 09/20/2018 12:38:22 PM PDT by buckalfa (I was so much older then, but I'am younger than that now.)
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To: Afterguard

Good luck with that...


11 posted on 09/20/2018 12:38:28 PM PDT by HamiltonJay
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To: Oldeconomybuyer

Insurance companies are the biggest scam ever devised. Well, other than Social Security, Income Tax, Obama Care, etc,etc,etc.


12 posted on 09/20/2018 12:38:42 PM PDT by unixfox (Abolish Slavery, Repeal the 16th Amendment)
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To: Oldeconomybuyer

I rock at OTF. I’d love this if the premiums were lower.


13 posted on 09/20/2018 12:40:33 PM PDT by TangledUpInBlue
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To: unixfox
Insurance companies are the biggest scam ever devised.

You can blame trial lawyers.
14 posted on 09/20/2018 12:40:45 PM PDT by JoSixChip (He is Batman!)
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To: Oldeconomybuyer

Americans are more ornery than Britons or South Africans.


15 posted on 09/20/2018 12:40:50 PM PDT by rightwingcrazy
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To: Oldeconomybuyer

Oh, and they want to see if you bought any ho-ho’s at Kroger too ... This is BS, we’ll insure you if you’re never going to collect ... ha ha


16 posted on 09/20/2018 12:41:06 PM PDT by Scythian_Reborn
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To: Oldeconomybuyer

Policy revocation if the GPS detects you inside a McDonalds?


17 posted on 09/20/2018 12:41:15 PM PDT by Rebelbase (Consensus isn't science.)
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To: Oldeconomybuyer

Records time, place and exertion of sexual activity also?


18 posted on 09/20/2018 12:42:21 PM PDT by Rebelbase (Consensus isn't science.)
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To: Oldeconomybuyer

The dirty little secret here is that many life insurance companies are looking for excuses to get out of the business altogether. Premiums have plummeted as the industry has gotten more competitive, and years of low interest rates have made it difficult for them to maintain investment portfolios that can support their actuarial models.


19 posted on 09/20/2018 12:43:05 PM PDT by Alberta's Child ("The Russians escaped while we weren't watching them ... like Russians will)
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To: Oldeconomybuyer

Can you hire a fit, active guy to wear one for you? Maybe he could get paid to wear four or five on each arm.


20 posted on 09/20/2018 12:43:19 PM PDT by Dr. Sivana (There is no salvation in politics.)
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