John Hancock announced today it is expanding its Apple Watch program to include the new Apple Watch Series 5. Beginning this fall, customers can earn the watch through the John Hancock Vitality Program for just $25, simply by being more active. The newest version of the watch features an always-on retina display, an updated compass, and international emergency calling, as well as hard fall and electrical heart sensors.
“Today’s announcement further cements our commitment to motivate and inspire customers to both protect their financial futures and live longer, healthier lives,” said Brooks Tingle, president and CEO of John Hancock Insurance. “The Apple Watch has been an extremely popular and effective component of our program as customers who use it report increased motivation and physical activity, the bottom line in what we’re trying to do with our insurance. Healthier lives are not only good for our customers and their families, but good for our business and society as a whole.”
In a recent survey of John Hancock Vitality members with Apple Watch, 84 percent stated they are motivated to exercise by their Apple Watch and 90 percent wear an Apple Watch seven days a week. Furthermore, a RAND Europe study of over 400,000 people, the world’s largest behavior tech study based on verified data, concluded that those who participated in Vitality’s Global Apple Watch programs averaged a 34 percent sustained increase in physical activity compared to participants without an Apple Watch.
With the John Hancock Vitality Apple Watch program, policyholders can choose the Series 5 (40mm) or Series 3 (38mm), pay a $25 initial fee (plus tax), and get started. They can also customize their watch with features like cellular or a larger face size for a one-time upgrade fee. Whether they like to walk, run, bike or swim, it’s easy for participants to share their activities and earn points that go toward monthly payments for their watch over a two-year period. John Hancock Vitality members are able to fully fund their watch by meeting monthly physical activity targets.
The John Hancock Vitality Program first launched in 2015. Through the program, customers can earn savings of up to 15 percent* on premiums and valuable rewards for the everyday things they do to stay healthy, like exercising, eating well and getting regular checkups, including $600 in annual savings on healthy food purchases. As an extension of John Hancock Vitality, the Company first introduced the Apple Watch program in 2016, offering policyholders the opportunity to earn an Apple Watch to support their physical activity goals and earn points.
Source: John Hancock Insurance
MacDailyNews Take: With each passing day, the world’s stupidwatch peddlers fall further and further behind!
Those who want to sit around, munching chips, while encasing themselves in growing rolls of fat should pay more for the costs brought on by their heart attacks, gout, diabetes, strokes, asthma, gallbladder disease, osteoarthritis, and cancer treatments.
Next we need a way for Apple Watch to detect smokers and charge them more, too. People who make the effort to be healthy, regardless of whether they actually are lucky enough to be healthy or not*, should pay less for their health insurance as they tax the system far less than those who are sedentary, obese and/or smoke. Just as life insurance costs more for those who live unhealthy lifestyles, their health insurance should cost more, too. (Life insurers should utilize Apple Watches in much the same way.)
*If a person is obese for reasons beyond a sedentary, unhealthy lifestyle, who is actively trying to be healthy as shown by their Apple Watch, but other conditions prevent fat loss (Hypothyroidism, Cushing’s syndrome, hormonal imbalances, Syndrome X, medications, etc.) they should get a lower rate than those who are simply leading sedentary, unhealthy lifestyles. Most cases of obesity are due to sedentary lifestyles and consuming more calories than required, not medical conditions.
Furthermore, people should have every right to sit around eating chips and smoking until they drop dead (unfortunately, it’s rarely that clean; they often first tax the health system to a great degree by developing diabetes, cancers, banging off a couple of heart attacks, having a stroke here and there, etc. before they finally make their glorious exit) and insurance companies should have every right to charge them more since, overall, they cost far more to take care of due to their poor choice(s) which raises costs for those who are trying to take care of themselves and therefore cost the system far less.
If you’re fat because you sit around too much and take in more calories than you can possible burn off by sitting on your ass all day, you can either keep on as you’re doing and pay more to cover your increased costs or put down the chips, stand up and get moving! (You can thank us later by continuing to visit during the 10-20 extra years you’ll get by following our advice.)
Climate changes
The climate is getting so hot, no one will survive in 5 years if we do not vote for Hillary
Next we need a way for Apple Watch to detect smokers and charge them more, too. People who make the effort to be healthy, regardless of whether they actually are lucky enough to be healthy or not*, – MDN
And bacon eaters, and those in fruitarian diets, and athletes while we’re at it, they are more likely to get injured after all. Every insured a profit center! Yay!
But most importantly… you’ve just invalidated every single shred of privacy supporting credibility you’ve ever faked!
Sorry MDN, As Americans and free people, it is our GD right to be fat, lazy and gluttonous. And what happens to those who get this watch from Big Brother Hancock and decide not to exercise? More shame? This is not PC now, watch out. LOL………
I looked into JH’s program when the Series 4 came out. The “vitality” program, which offers discounts for meeting various goals, has higher monthly premiums than their other programs. So while it seems like you can get a free Apple Watch, you’re actually just paying for it in additional premiums (unless they’ve changed the program and not told anyone). When I did the math last year, there was a possibility to save a small amount of money if you earned all the reimbursements, but it was nowhere near the cost of an Apple Watch.
The program can still serve as a motivator because if you miss the goals then you end up paying for the watch and paying higher premiums, but you might as well just buy insurance elsewhere and use Stickk to help keep you accountable to health goals.