According to him, socially-oriented insurance began to actively develop on the basis of "smart" technologies. Telematics, telemedicine, wearable devices are tools that allow insurers to follow the client's behavior, and depending on his lifestyle or driving, form the "portrait" of the insured and set individual prices for his policy. The client, in his turn, realizes that he is being watched, that he influences on his financial result. This disciplines him, stimulates to lead a healthy lifestyle, obey traffic regulations.
A person does sport exercises; the fitness trackers read this information and pass it to the insurance company. Based on this, the insurer can offer a discount to the customer. There is already such a practice in the world. For example, South African Discovery Health Company charges its customers bonus points for vaccinations, smoking cessation, physical fitness tests, visits to the fitness center, taking tests for cholesterol, sugar, HIV, and other healthy activities. Then the insurer converts the points into discounts, which can be "cashed" when buying goods and services: for example, buy a tourist ticket twice cheaper, or go to a restaurant, or buy branded clothes with a 70% discount.
Oscar Health Company went even farther by implementing cashback for achieving sports goals. If the client takes the necessary number of steps, calculated by the fitness tracker, he will receive $1 on his account. The amount is small, but still pleasant for the client. Besides, he can receive it every day, that is, motivation for a healthy life style works on an ongoing basis.
According to the company Bain, most customers are ready to provide insurance companies with personal information, if this can affect the tariff. For example, in Germany the share of such clients at the age of 24-35 is more than 80%. There are no such statistics in Russia yet, but I believe the number will not be much lower, writes Pavel Samiyev.
Telemedicine is also developing in the world and in Russia, and that significantly expands the geography of insurance policies and their opportunities. According to Allied Market Research calculations, the volume of the market for the medical "Internet of things" by 2021 will be $136.8 billion. Portable devices becoming more affordable will provide the pace of market growth. They will be trusted by more and more clients and doctors. In addition, their functional features will expand, from a simple step counter to more sophisticated analytical tools for health monitoring. For example, the Embrace wearable device records the epileptic spell, and the Lively bracelet tracks the condition of senior people. In each case, a specialized doctor can also be contacted. There are a variety of glucometers for diabetics, cardiac scanners, and skin scanners. In cooperation with an insurance company and a medical organization, this often helps to solve the problem at an initial stage.
Telemedicine can reduce costs and cut the price of VHI by 20-30%. Online consultation is cheaper than a face-to-face visit to a doctor. According to the statistics of the Ministry of Health and Social Development of the Russian Federation, about 40% of appeals of the insurance companies’ clients to the hospital are mostly preventive.
Thus, socially responsible insurance solves several important tasks at once, the expert believes: encourages clients to lead a regular and prudent way of life and, reduces unprofitability for insurers. Ultimately, everyone wins: insurers will receive cost savings, and customers will get discounts on policies.
Source: http://www.asn-news.ru/post/880
Photos per website: citywoman.info.
