More than 10 000 screenings have been completed using Momentum’s in-app digital screening tool, LifeReturns, since its debut late last October.
As a result, the life insurance provider is also planning additional features to the in-app screening tool that it expects to go live early next year, says Stephen van Niekerk, executive head of Momentum Myriad.
Momentum’s LifeReturns uses biometric facial screening and a few mandatory questions, like medical aid membership and exercise routines for clients to complete their annual reassessments on their smartphonesin the comfort of their homes.
Van Niekerk explains there is the option to complete the initial screening on one’s own mobile device, if the appropriate link has been shared by a financial adviser. There is also the option for the client to perform the screening on the financial adviser’s mobile device.
It assesses health risk factors for insurance premiums, such as the client’s blood pressure, heart rate, stress and oxygen saturation levels within a 90-second mobile screening session. It aims to give clients a discount of up to 35% on their monthly Myriad policypremiums,based on their screening results.
Enabled by technology, the tool shows the client’s discount upfront, Van Niekerk says. “We embraced digital developments and reimagined life insurance as we know it. This led us to the launch of our screening innovation and discount mechanism, called LifeReturns.
“All we need from our clients is to do the screening on an annual basis to maintain their discount.”
According him, the technology behind LifeReturns is remote photoplethysmography, commonly referred to as rPPG. To bring this innovation to life, the insurer partnered with an international company that it says is heavily involved in rPPG technology.
LifeReturns uses smartphone screening technology to analyse light reflected from facial skin and the blood vessels to measure the changes during that process, he stated.
“The combination of that light measures the changes of what is happening in your blood vessels and that will give you an indication of someone’s heart rate and blood pressure. In the future, we believe it will be able to measure cholesterol and cotinine levels, with machine learning technology in the background.”
In addition, thenew tech-enabled process aims to streamline the underwriting process, notes Van Niekerk, dubbing this process FastTrack.
“The screening is quick and easy, and provides accurate digital health assessments. We can use these screening results immediately to offer our clients discounts on premiums. In addition, technology provides us with the opportunity to digitalise our application process completely – from the quote stage all the way to submitting the application for insurance. This saves our clients, our financial advisers and us time and effort, reduces costs and helps us keep life insurance affordable.
“Overall, incorporating technology into the life insurance industry allows for more innovation, now and in the future, which leads to numerous benefits for both insurers and clients.”
Asked whether clients are ready for the technological advancements in the insurance space, Van Niekerk notes people are already doing most things on their phones, ranging from buying food to switching their house lights on.
“There’s some spill over that’s luckily hit the insurance industry and we see some consumers are embracing technology when they’re looking around for insurance. But it needs to go further than just embracing technology – we see that consumers are comfortable sharing data with insurers, particularly South Africans.”
Looking to the future, he explains the insurer has filed an international patent application for a fitness proposition to be added to the in-app digital screening tool. “We’ll be building a mobile fitness assessment so that you don’t need to go to the biokineticist...we’re trying to get to a place where all of this is enabled by mobile technology.”
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