Fitness and big data. Click to keep reading…

Fitness and big data. Click to keep reading…

Life insurance companies are beginning to offer rewards to customers that track their fitness activity using wearable trackers (like Fitbit and the Apple Watch).

Insurers like fitness buffs, as they are likely to live longer and are probably more health-conscious, and less risky to cover. John Hancock is using their rewards program to connect with policyholders. They interact with their customers through Vitality up to 40 times a month. Insurers also see these programs as a great way to attract new customers, as fewer people are buying life insurance.

Privacy advocates are left wondering about what may happen when a company knows too much about its customers. There are no guidelines in place currently that describe how organizations can use fitness information. Pam Dixon, executive director of the World Privacy Forum, suggests that because the insurance industry is using individual’s information, it’s a “red flare in the sky for all of us that this is here, and it’s having a meaningful impact on our lives.”–Chiglinksy, K. (November 19, 2018-January 6, 2019). Health Data. Bloomberg Businessweek, p. 68.

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