"Our model has always been built around a simple idea: people’s health can change, and insurance has an important role to play in supporting and recognising that."
- Justin Taurog - VitalityLife
VitalityLife has announced the launch of its new underwriting benefit, called Dynamic, which it describes as a new approach recognising that a person’s health and risk can change over time and enabling their life insurance premiums to change with it.
The benefit will give eligible members with a BMI premium loading the opportunity to reduce their premiums and earn cashback when they reduce their BMI and improve their risk profile.
According to VitalityLife’s internal data, BMI currently accounts for around 75% of loadings applied to VitalityLife plans.
Eligible members will receive a personalised BMI target and support through the Vitality programme to help them work towards it, including support for healthy eating and physical activity, such as a discounted gym membership, fitness trackers and weight-management services through WeightWatchers and Second Nature.
As part of Vitality’s existing partnership with Boots online doctor, members who are clinically eligible can access support through its weight management treatment service.
Progress against the new underwriting benefit will be verified through a free annual Vitality health check.
READ MORE: Senior executives warn of major climate crisis impact on insurance market
Members who achieve their personalised BMI target can receive cashback each year for the first three years, subject to reaching at least silver Vitality status, earned by engaging with the Vitality programme and taking steps to improve their health.
Cashback ranges from one month’s premium at silver to two months at gold and three months at platinum.
Members who sustain their BMI improvement across all three years will also have their premium automatically reviewed to reflect their lower risk, without the need to be re-underwritten. Any resulting reduction will then continue to apply for the life of the plan.
"Our model has always been built around a simple idea: people’s health can change, and insurance has an important role to play in supporting and recognising that," Justin Taurog, CEO of VitalityLife, said.
"We’ve already put that principle into practice through Optimiser, rewarding members for engaging with their health and enabling them to influence the premiums they pay overtime. Dynamic underwriting builds on this - recognising sustained improvements in underlying health and risk, initially through BMI.
"This is about helping more people make lasting changes to improve their health, while exploring how insurance can better recognise those improvements and the impact they can have on risk over time."
