PAVING THE WAY FOR WEARABLE INCLUSION IN INSURANCE

Garmin Health is enhancing the insurance landscape through the inclusion of wearable technology in the transition from traditional coverage to dynamic engagement and prevention.

If you’re interested in partnering with Garmin Health or simply learning more about what we are doing in the health space, please reach out to us!

Jake O’Connor, Global Business Development Manager, Health B2B

Garmin Health produces world class devices for corporate wellness programs, providing the best battery life and biometric sensor data in an ever-expanding industry. Founded in 2014, it has invested in connectivity solutions such as the Garmin Connect Health API and the Garmin Health SDKs to provide the maximum flexibility for partners to access this data. Combined with a global distribution network, Garmin Health offers a wide scope of services across several industries including Health Care, Insurance, Research and Clinical Trials, Gym and Fitness and Corporate Health Benefits.

How does Garmin Health operate in the insurance industry?

Garmin Health provides fully or partially subsidised devices and monetary incentives to insurance customers to encourage a healthy and active lifestyle, with the goal of engaging their members and reducing medical costs. Life and re-insurance companies use our wearable devices to stratify risk and improve their margins. Ultimately, we seek to find and relieve our customers' pain points through our comprehensive data-ecosystem that allows them to share the data generated via our wearable sensor technology.

How do partners benefit from working with Garmin Health?

Whether it be customer acquisition, health promotion, risk assessment, or selective prevention control, we have access to thousands of partners to find the perfect solution. With the ability to bring wearable devices to customers anywhere around the globe, we are dedicated to helping you offer the best health solutions for your customers.

Where do you see the future of the insurance industry trending?

Wearable devices are playing an increasing role as insurers invest heavily in accurate risk assessment and underwriting procedures. Wearables can help detect health risks earlier and advise for quick and timely treatments. Insurers can also augment their traditional underwriting dataset with additional physiological endpoints, transitioning from a static underwriting process to a continuous, long-term assessment that provides the ability to engage and affect behaviours and outcomes.

For questions and more info, please feel free to contact me directly at jake.oconnor@garmin.com

A customer-focused approach

This kind of customer relationship has been made possible thanks to the transformative technical tools now available to insurers in conjunction with the power of data, which allows insurers to provide a more personalised service.

Stockhammer believes that progress is causing a fundamental change in the level of service an insurer can provide to their life customers, going from a passive observer to being part of them making positive life changes.

“It pushes us towards a customer-focused approach, this ongoing communication, as we’re getting immediate feedback from the customers. This is helpful for us because we’re really having the voice of the customer immediately there.”

External expertise

Stockhammer believes it’s crucial for players in the in sector to take not only feedback from their customers, but to align that feedback with the expertise of their technical partners. One of the key technical relationships Generali have is with Garmin.

Garmin was founded in 1989 by Gary Burrell and Min Kao, initially focused on developing GPS devices for aviation and marine use. The company later expanded to include products for outdoor, fitness, and automotive markets. It made them one of the leading exponents of exploiting GPS technology in a consumer market place, and they have continued to develop cutting-edge technologies since, such as GPS-enabled smartwatches and cycling computers.

As Stockhammer explains, it’s crucial for deployment in the overall digital transformation of insurance to leverage this kind of expertise — to the benefit of not just the consumer, but the insurance industry trying to develop smarter relationships with their clients.

He says: “It’s a regular exchange — what can we do together next? What’s the development? How can Garmin help us? How can we help Garmin? What feedback are we getting from a customer? What’s good, what’s not good? What are they looking for? So it really is a partnership.”

Just as the feedback from policyholders can provide a different perspective, Stockhammer is adamant that being open to, and embracing, technical advances can keep Generali Engagement Solutions products at the forefront of the industry. He believes that the change in perspective through these partnerships can challenge the established ways of doing things, pushing boundaries that previously wouldn’t have been considered.

“My main principle is to get input from other industries. It is always good to get some input and some ideas from the outside. When you are permanently working on a single piece, you have a deep expertise, but bringing in some expertise from a different, outside point of view is always super helpful.”

Powerful data

Data is crucial to all insurance companies, because it allows them to assess risks accurately, set premiums, and make informed decisions. By using the data to analyse customer behaviour, claims history, and market trends, improvements to customer experience can be made while also increasing profits and reducing losses. Protecting customer data is, however, of vital importance for insurance companies in: maintaining trust with their customers; preventing data breaches and associated legal and financial liabilities; and complying with data protection regulations.

With the increased flow of information from a customer regularly interacting with products like Generali Vitality, Stockhammer is conscious of just how precious that data is. It not only helps the provider deliver a better customer experience and product, but it is the cornerstone of trust between the customer and the provider.

“I think that it is important and we are showing they are confident we are not misusing this data and always telling the customer you are in control in the programme there are several places where they can engage.”

He also states how vital it is that the industry makes sure the customer feels empowered in knowing how to make changes to the use of their data and ensuring there’s a transparent relationship with their insurer.

“For each single piece, you decide what you’d like to share and give your consent. You can revoke it at any time, and if you revoke it, the data sharing is immediately stopped. The important thing is to give the customer control over their data.”

Staying ahead

With the flow of information, expertise, and feedback between technical partners, insurer, and customer, Stockhammer is mindful that it is only possible to continue to deliver the best product by challenging any potential boundaries. He believes that, if any company embracing this kind of customerfacing technology gets too comfortable with the speed of their progress, they’re at risk of losing their advantage.

“If you're thinking you have an advantage, bear in mind you don't know what others are preparing in the kitchen. Is there something that will overtake you? Immediately after the game is just before the next game, otherwise others will overtake you.”

With so many providers working to improve on the customer experience and expand the reach of this technology, Stockhammer says Generali uses the competition that inevitably arises between insurers as motivation to never rest on any progress made and instead use it to fuel their next industry-leading development. He believes that working closely with both their technical partners for expertise and their customers for insight, they can continue the evolution of insurance from just simple protection to enhanced prevention.

“We shouldn’t be so arrogant in saying we are the brains for working on such a proposition, because I have respect for others that are working on similar products. So it’s always the thing pushing us permanently to the next limit.”