Would you share personal lifestyle information to save money?

BY ANDREW STEWART

A survey released March 19^th of 47,000 consumers in 28 countries, including 2,000 Canadians was done by Accenture, saying that nearly half of Canadian consumers are willing to share “significant” personal information, such as location data and lifestyle information, with their insurer or bank to get lower pricing on products and services.

Companies like Sun Life are banking on things like offering rewards to boost employee wellness. They teamed up with BestLifeRewarded to offer its group pension plan clients access to a unique platform. The ultimate goal is to reduce direct and indirect costs triggered by risky behaviors. Currently, in its test phase, the platform will be deployed more broadly this month. To use the platform, employees start by completing a questionnaire on risk assessment in overall health. Their answers can identify their weaknesses and thus define objectives to help them improve their situation. Next, a personalized plan is created and the platform offers actions to take to meet their goals.

Employees who want to walk more can synchronize their smartwatch or smartphone with the platform, which determines whether the wearers are taking the target number of steps. People who want to feel more relaxed can earn points if they attend a yoga or meditation class. To improve their financial health, participants can earn points if they attend webinars on how to manage their budget or plan their retirement. Employees will get points each time they do actions that bring them closer to achieving their personal goals. People who collect the most points can win contests organized internally by the business. “Some employers even offer to convert points into money that can be paid into the employee’s RRSP or health savings account.

Interestingly enough at the same time, Canadian consumers believe that privacy is paramount, with 72% of the consumers surveyed saying they are very cautious about the privacy of their personal data. For example, if you said you drink too much alcohol and want to work on solving this problem, the employer will not find out. Employers would get access to data only on the group of employees as a whole. Sometimes we forget that the companies that are collecting the biggest amount of data on us are the cell phone providers.

Almost all of us have a cellular device recording where we go, what we say and search for, health information and much, much more. It only makes sense that the health industry and insurers use this data to try and lower their risk. It is obvious we are willing to share our personal data in instances where it makes our lives easier but will continue to remain cautious of exactly how our information is being used. We are moving into an era where globally we show strong support for personalized insurance premiums. Lowering car insurance premiums based on safe driving and life insurance premiums tied to a healthy lifestyle.

BestLifeRewarded reports that 18.8% of people who used its platform feel less stress, 16.5% eat more fruits and vegetables, 14.6% stopped smoking and 8.15% sleep better. Manulife launched a similar initiative in 2018. Through the Vitality platform, the insurer offers its group insurance and individual customers rewards based on wellness activities.