Protecting health to generate wealth Life insurance companies are joining the vanguard of a corporate wellness revolution.
Corporate wellness is creating business opportunities while boosting the fitness of workers, writes Rob Stock.
The life and health insurance industry used to be an unhealthy industry to work in. Long hours, a drinking culture, and socialising with insurance advisers took its toll on the waistlines and fitness of the maledominated industry.
But that’s all changed, and anyone wanting a model of how to live to a grand old age can find it in the sleek, fit heads of insurance companies.
The insurance wellness revolution is creating business opportunities, with health insurer Southern Cross poised to start selling a corporate wellness programme based on its own Switch2well programme which 90 per cent of its employees take part in.
Naomi Ballantyne, chief executive of Partners’ Life experienced the bad old days of the old life insurance industry.
Her health suffered, until just over a decade ago when she, along with other high profile insurance leaders like Ralph Stewart, then chief executive of AXA, led a health revolution.
Both are now long-distance runners.
‘‘These large life insurance companies were predominantly, if not exclusively, run by older, caucasian men,’’ she said.
‘‘Long, rich lunches, plenty of alcohol, and smoking were common-place and membership to a businessmen’s club was almost a pre-requisite for career progression,’’ she said.
‘‘Getting into the ‘executive club’ in the life insurance industry also required joining the unhealthy lifestyle club.’’
Women are far better represented now.
Seven in ten workers at Southern Cross, for example, are women.
Insurance has changed too, Ballantyne said.
Insurers now offered policies like trauma and income protection, which exist to support families where an income earner falls ill, or is seriously injured.
Analysis of how lifestyle choices determine the likelihood of people making claims have been hard for insurance chief executives to ignore.
Ballantyne points to a University of Gothenberg study from 2011 on how men live to 90.
‘‘It is often assumed that people with parents who lived to be very old are more likely to live to a grand old age themselves. But that’s just not true. Our study shows that hereditary factors don’t play a major role and that lifestyle has the biggest impact,’’ said one of the authors Lars Wilhelmsen.
Research from University of Zurich showed the four main risk factors to longevity are unhealthy diet, smoking, inactivity and excessive alcohol consumption, Ballantyne said.
The Gothenberg study concluded excessive coffee consumption, good socioeconomic status at age 50, good physical working capacity at the age of 54, and low cholesterol at 50, were important factors for me to reach 90.
Ballantyne said the probability of a 75-year-old man surviving to age 85 is 67 per cent if they have none of the risk factors. If they have all four it reduces to 35 per cent.
For women the numbers are 74 per cent for no risk factors and 47 per cent with all four.
Wellness programmes have evolved, said Southern Cross’ Vicki Caisley.
When Southern Cross’ launched in 2006, it was focused on reducing smoking and weight loss. Today, it’s a much more holistic affair in which tech plays a big part.
In 2015, it launched a digital tracking programme using Fitbits (10,000 steps a day is the target) and smart water bottles (which communicate with employees’ mobiles calculating how much water they should be drinking based on their weight, the exercise they are doing, and the weather). The quality of staff sleep is also being tracked.
Over 500 staff are being tracked, though the data is collected anonymously, so it’s not a case of big brother watching.
It could be a sign of things to come. All over the world there are predictions that ‘‘telematics’’ will transform the insurance industry, allowing insurers to reward people with fit and healthy lifestyles with lower premiums.
Southern Cross staff earn rewards for participating in Switch2well, including being able to earn extra days off.
The data collected so far has been crunched by Massey University fitness academics. Caisley said one of the findings was that staff active in the programme took an average of 3.6 days less sick leave each year than those who weren’t.
The corporate bottom line is what makes Southern Cross think it can market wellness programmes through its corporate health insurance business.
‘‘We’ve seen noticeable improvements on all fronts over the last five years, with staff turnover reducing by 13 per cent, and absenteeism reducing by 25 per cent in the same time frame,’’ Caisley said.
Southern Cross had an employee engagement score of over 90 per cent, which is exceptionally high.
Switch2well isn’t only focused on physical health. Financial health is catered for, and Southern Cross has partnered with EnableMe to give people access to financial fitness trainers.
Stewart said a big gain for insurance leaders was extra energy and mental sharpness.
He launched a new insurer Lifetime Retirement Income two years’ ago. ‘‘I’ve never worked harder in my life.’’
But he believed insurers’ wellness revolution was also motivated to earn respect from a distrustful public.
Lance Walker, chief executive of life insurer Cigna, is another lean, fit long-distance running leader.
Key to the success of wellness schemes was a heavy dose of staff input in their design, he said.
Currently, Cigna’s programme included: group yoga, spin classes, boot camps, discounted gym and fitness class memberships, global fitness challenge, fresh fruit to the office, free medical insurance, business discounts, nutrition,
Long, rich lunches, plenty of alcohol and smoking were common-place.
sleep and financial planning seminars, biometric screening, free health assessments, run and walking groups, swim clubs, chair massages, boxing and mindfulness training, as well as 12-week, online exercise programmes for employees who work from home.
But leaders have to set the culture, and lead by example.
‘‘Our CIO Carmen Casagranda leads our Spin class,’’ Walker said.
Some insurers align wellness programmes with sponsorships.
Cigna sponsors Round the Bays runs, while Partners Life sponsors The Duel run around Rangitoto and Motutapu in the Hauraki Gulf.
With so many fitness buffs in Partners Life, Ballantyne says: ’’I often joke that the busiest rooms in our office are the showers, somewhat annoying if I have to wait to use one after a lunch-time run along Takapuna Beach.’’
WORKERS LOVE WELLNESS
Insurer Cigna asked over 1000 people about company wellness programmes in its 360 survey.
29 per cent said their employer had one.
17 per cent said they were ‘‘ active’ ’ participants.
Globally, participation is around 27 per cent.
59 per cent said schemes made them feel valued.