The industry’s desire to rein in claim costs could soon have advisors prepping clients for a very different underwriting process.
Advisors who love science fiction, get ready for life to imitate art.
Wearable technology is poised to revolutionize the way life insurance is underwritten, according to Simon Tomlinson, CEO of Bluesun.
“I would suggest in the not too distant future your life insurer will ask you to put some wearable technology on which will give them all the insight they need to underwrite you as accurately as any process they have today,” said Tomlinson.
“At the end of the day or two days where you’ve worn something they’re going to be able to put you in the right rate band based on your health and lifestyle.”
It might sound like science fiction but with introduction of products like Google Glass and the recent Apple iWatch it might not be too farfetched.
“There’s a tech company in the space and we’re already involved in some dialogue with some very interesting organizations that solve all the problems it provokes in the supply chain,” said Tomlinson. “We could be in a very different place in a very small amount of time. Well-funded organizations looking at this could be doing something fairly revolutionary in a few years.”
By 2018 the wearables market is expected to be worth more than $12 billion, according to Statista.
“From the insurance context, I’m thinking particularly of those wearable devices that monitor vital signs related to health,” said Jean-Francois Gasc in an Accenture Report. “They truly have the potential to disrupt the health and life insurance market in all sorts of ways.”
Accenture data also suggests that consumers are on board too.
Nearly 50 per cent of insurance customers are already interested in lower life premiums based on exercise levels and other indicators recorded by such devices—all part of the shift towards personalized services and risk management.
“It’s something that I keep an eye on at the moment,” said Tomlinson. “The technology already exists. What we’re going to be faced with is organizations that really link up those technologies with the kind of connectivity that we’re working on now through to the consumer. It would be pure guess work, but that capability is there now.”
Wearable technology is poised to revolutionize the way life insurance is underwritten, according to Simon Tomlinson, CEO of Bluesun.
“I would suggest in the not too distant future your life insurer will ask you to put some wearable technology on which will give them all the insight they need to underwrite you as accurately as any process they have today,” said Tomlinson.
“At the end of the day or two days where you’ve worn something they’re going to be able to put you in the right rate band based on your health and lifestyle.”
It might sound like science fiction but with introduction of products like Google Glass and the recent Apple iWatch it might not be too farfetched.
“There’s a tech company in the space and we’re already involved in some dialogue with some very interesting organizations that solve all the problems it provokes in the supply chain,” said Tomlinson. “We could be in a very different place in a very small amount of time. Well-funded organizations looking at this could be doing something fairly revolutionary in a few years.”
By 2018 the wearables market is expected to be worth more than $12 billion, according to Statista.
“From the insurance context, I’m thinking particularly of those wearable devices that monitor vital signs related to health,” said Jean-Francois Gasc in an Accenture Report. “They truly have the potential to disrupt the health and life insurance market in all sorts of ways.”
Accenture data also suggests that consumers are on board too.
Nearly 50 per cent of insurance customers are already interested in lower life premiums based on exercise levels and other indicators recorded by such devices—all part of the shift towards personalized services and risk management.
“It’s something that I keep an eye on at the moment,” said Tomlinson. “The technology already exists. What we’re going to be faced with is organizations that really link up those technologies with the kind of connectivity that we’re working on now through to the consumer. It would be pure guess work, but that capability is there now.”
