technology

For insurers to effectively utilize wearable technology, it is important to understand the metrics captured by devices. Insurers must also be mindful of regulations, set reasonable expectations, and balance the risk and rewards of new developments.This white paper summarizes the considerations.

A company using what seems like a fun smartphone game to get you to walk more might be a slippery slope. With access to all that data, what will a big corporation ultimately do with it? This is still new, so the implications are murky.

John Hancock, one of the oldest and largest North American life insurers, will stop underwriting traditional life insurance and instead sell only interactive policies that track fitness and health data through wearable devices and smartphones, the company said on Wednesday.

Customers today are more digitally‐enabled, more health conscious and more demanding of customized products and services that offer greater freedom and flexibility. The insurance industry however often fails to keep pace, and consumers can face multiple pain points in their insurance journey.

In most fields, domain-specific data analysis and generalized linear models (GLMs) have been routinely used to extract insights from the data. The underlying mathematics of such analyses are rather straightforward, and practitioners as well as non-technical project members are experienced in how to interpret the results, and thus are adept at applying them in the context of business.

The RNS is not something from science fiction. It is one of a growing number of technologies that combine robotics, artificial intelligence, and connected devices to bring a new level of technological sophistication to the physical world. Such tools will have huge implications for the life insurance industry.

Either through online application processes and simplified underwriting, or by more advanced data analysis – using, for example, facial recognition – the underwriting process is going to change. What the exact developments will be and how they finally affect our industry is not yet 100% clear.

This update is based largely upon findings from our 2018 New Business Critical Issues Survey. It was conducted over a span of six months stating in October 2017. Chief underwriters from 93 insurers offering individually underwritten life insurance participated in this survey.

Is the promise of wearable technology too good to be true? Inclusion of wearables in life insurance products to date has not matched the interest. But advances hold great promise. RGA’s Julianne Callaway explores the power and perils of these promising devices in Digital Insurance. 

Wearable devices (those worn by consumers as accessories or implants), have been of interest to more than a handful of industries in recent years. The opportunities and possible uses so far seem positive and limitless.