John Hancock Leaves Traditional Life Insurance Model Behind to Incentivize Longer, Healthier Lives
September 25, 2018 by John Hancock Financial
BOSTON, SEPT. 19, 2018 – Starting today, in a departure from the traditional life insurance business model, all John Hancock life insurance policies will come with Vitality – a behavior change platform that rewards customers for the everyday steps they take to live longer, healthier lives. Built on the convergence of behavioral economics and consumer technology, John Hancock Vitality policies incentivize healthier choices linked to physical activity, nutrition and mindfulness.
“For centuries, the insurance model has primarily provided financial protection for families after death, without enhancing the very quality it hinges on: life,” said Marianne Harrison, John Hancock president and CEO. “We fundamentally believe life insurers should care about how long and well their customers live. With this decision, we are proud to become the only U.S. life insurance company to fully embrace behavioral-based wellness and leave the old way of doing business behind.”
The time for change is now: America’s health is at risk
John Hancock began offering Vitality as part of its overall set of offerings in 2015 in response to a troubling shift in Americans’ health: lifestyle diseases are the leading cause of death. According to the Oxford Health Alliance, just four choices — physical inactivity, an unhealthy diet, excessive alcohol and smoking — now cause more than 60 percent of deaths and 80 percent of the disease burden globally.1
To face this challenge, John Hancock turned to Vitality and its pairing of technology, incentives and science to inform and reward customers for making healthier choices every day.
The results are compelling. To date, worldwide Vitality policyholders have shown to:
- Live 13-21 years longer than the rest of the insured population 2
- Generate 30 percent lower hospitalization costs than the rest of the insured population 2
While John Hancock Vitality policyholders:
- Take nearly twice as many steps as the average American 3
- Have logged more than three million healthy activities including walking, swimming, and biking 4
- Engage with the program approximately 576 times per year – compared to customers with traditional insurance, who engage with their life insurance company one or two times per year on average 4
“The remarkable results of our Vitality offering convinced us this is the only path forward for the industry,” said Brooks Tingle, president and CEO of John Hancock Insurance. “We have smart phones, smart cars and smart homes. It’s time for smart life insurance that meets the changing needs of consumers. We believe offering Vitality on all life insurance policies, at no additional cost, is the right thing to do for our customers, our business and society. We believe this is the future of our industry, and I encourage other insurance companies to follow suit.”
“Poor eating and other unhealthy lifestyles have created an epidemic of preventable, chronic disease, hurting American families and businesses. John Hancock should be applauded for extending its Vitality program to focus on healthier food and lifestyles across its portfolio,” says Dariush Mozaffarian, MD, DrPH, Dean of the Friedman School of Nutrition Science & Policy, Tufts University. “Recognizing the complexities and confusion over good nutrition, John Hancock is collaborating with the Friedman School to ensure that strong science informs these efforts.”
John Hancock Vitality Life Insurance – Two Options to Support Healthy Living
John Hancock Vitality Life Insurance now offers new and existing* customers two options to support and incentivize healthier choices, wherever they are in their wellness journey:
- Vitality GO: Vitality GO will be offered on all life insurance policies, at no additional cost. With this basic ‘be healthy’ version of the program, consumers will have access to expert fitness and nutritional resources and personalized health goals through an easy-to-use app and website. And as they reach key milestones, their healthy activities will be rewarded with discounts at major brand outlets.
- Vitality PLUS: For $2.00 a month5, customers will receive all the benefits of the John Hancock Vitality Program, including savings of up to 15 percent on annual premiums and valuable rewards for the everyday things they do to stay healthy, like exercising, eating well and getting regular checkups. Consumers can earn an Apple Watch for as little as $25 plus tax or receive a complimentary Fitbit device to make it easy to record their healthy activities. Today, we also announce additions to the program:
Starting October 1, 2018, exclusive customer discounts at more than 400,000 hotels around the world in partnership with Hotels.com. Starting January 2019, members who reach platinum status for three consecutive program years will receive a one-year Amazon Prime membership.
For more information about how the John Hancock Vitality Life Insurance program may benefit you, visit here.
*Vitality GO and PLUS will be rolled out over time, beginning in 2019, for existing John Hancock life insurance policyholders
ABOUT JOHN HANCOCK FINANCIAL AND MANULIFE
John Hancock Financial is a division of Manulife, a leading Canada-based financial services group with principal operations in Asia, Canada and the United States. Operating as Manulife in Canada and Asia, and primarily as John Hancock in the United States, our group of companies offers clients a diverse range of financial protection products and wealth management services through its extensive network of employees, agents and distribution partners. Assets under management by Manulife and its subsidiaries were C$691 billion (US$596 billion) as at December 31, 2014. Manulife Financial Corporation trades as ‘MFC’ on the TSX, NYSE and PSA, and under ‘945’ on the SEHK. Manulife can be found on the Internet at Manulife.com.
The John Hancock unit, through its insurance companies, comprises one of the largest life insurers in the United States. John Hancock offers and administers a broad range of financial products, including life insurance, annuities, investments, 401(k) plans, long-term care insurance, college savings, and other forms of business insurance. Additional information about John Hancock may be found at johnhancock.com.
ABOUT VITALITY
Guided by a core purpose of making people healthier, Vitality is the leader in improving health to unlock outcomes that matter. By blending smart tech, data, incentives, and behavioral science, we inspire healthy changes in individuals and organizations. Vitality brings a global perspective through successful partnerships with the smartest insurers and most forward-thinking employers around the world. More than 8 million people in 18 countries engage in the Vitality program. For more information, please visit www.vitalitygroup.com.
1] The Oxford Health Alliance: Chronic Disease an economic perspective, 2006 http://www.who.int/management/programme/ncd/Chronic-disease-an-economic-perspective.pdf
[2] Insuring Shared Value: How Insurers Gain Competitive Advantage by Better Addressing Society’s Needs, June 2017, http://vitalitysharedvalueinsurance.com/pdf/insuring-shared-value.pdf
[4] Data based on policyholder experience since inception in the U.S., April 2015.
[3] Steps data from BusinessInsider.com, July 2015.
[5] For single life permanent products. For term products, the rider fee will be 3% of the policy’s modal premium
