MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Health IQ and Protective Life Insurance Company, the primary subsidiary of Protective Life Corporation, today launched a first-of-its-kind life insurance offering that will provide well-managed diabetics living a healthy lifestyle a more cost effective option for protecting their families, while encouraging them to live long, healthy lives. The program was designed using Health IQ’s proprietary data, the latest scientific research, and Protective’s innovative underwriting. This collaboration enabled the development of a unique offering for Type 2 diabetics that provides additional value to those who are committed to living a healthy lifestyle by potentially offering savings for individual life insurance coverage.
“Type 2 diabetes should not define your health destiny or be the only deciding factor in pricing your life insurance. While none of us can fully control the health cards we’re dealt, we can control how we play those cards. We at Health IQ believe well-managed diabetics who live a healthy lifestyle work very hard to manage their disease and deserve financial savings for their effort. We’re proud to have pioneered the data and science that paved the way for this offering,” said Munjal Shah, CEO, Health IQ.
The new offering represents an important modernization and major step forward for the insurance industry. By using technology and science to more accurately measure long-term health risk, the collaboration will help millions of Americans living with diabetes access a new, cost effective life insurance alternative. The launch comes as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that more than 30 million U.S. adults are now living with diabetes, and 84 million are living with prediabetes. Because diabetes diagnosis can impact premiums, some diabetics find it challenging to afford life insurance. This offering will provide an attractive alternative for well-managed diabetics living a healthy lifestyle.
“Many diabetics work hard to successfully manage their disease and live long, healthy lives,” said Aaron Seurkamp, SVP, Life & Annuity Executive, Protective. “In partnering with Health IQ, we hope to provide more options to those who diligently manage their diabetes and help millions of responsible Americans get the coverage they want.”
A healthy lifestyle can have a significant impact on improving longevity for people with Type 2 diabetes, an insight Health IQ discovered when analyzing its proprietary quiz data of over 1 million people longitudinally tracked over the last five years. This data set showed that diabetics who scored Elite on the Health IQ test had 18% lower mortality compared to diabetics who did not score Elite. It further showed that diabetics who scored Elite AND conducted regular exercise or maintained a specific diet had 40% lower mortality.
Health IQ’s findings were corroborated by a recent 2018 paper by Rawshani, et al. in the New England Journal of Medicine studying the impact of recommended targets for mortality and cardiovascular risk factors in Type 2 diabetics. The paper shows that the risk of mortality for an unmanaged diabetic increases by 299%, while the risk for managed diabetics increases by only 15%. Physical activity and living a healthy lifestyle is a major predictor of mortality risk that comes second only to smoking.
This new offering is designed for Type 2 diabetics who score Elite on the Health IQ Diabetic Quiz and meet applicable underwriting requirements. Those interested in taking advantage of the program must also show evidence of a healthy lifestyle through self-management, activity tracking, or a variety of other options.
About Health IQ
Health IQ is an insurance company on a mission to improve the world’s health by rewarding runners, cyclists, weightlifters, swimmers, yogis, well-managed diabetics, and other Americans living a healthy lifestyle. Health IQ gives these individuals credit for their healthy lifestyle through lower rates. Since pioneering the use of science and data to measure the impact of healthy lifestyles, Health IQ has become the fastest growing life insurance company in the nation. Health IQ has grown from zero to $14 billion in coverage in the last three years.
The company was founded for the health conscious by the health conscious. The company’s three founders were each touched by a personal health challenge and overcame them by adopting a healthier lifestyle. The founders wanted to inspire and encourage others to embrace a healthy lifestyle by giving them financial rewards.
About Protective Life
Protective Life Corporation provides financial services through the production, distribution and administration of insurance and investment products throughout the U.S. The company traces its roots to the corporation’s flagship company, Protective Life Insurance Company – founded in 1907. Throughout its more than 110-year history, Protective’s growth and success can be largely attributed to its ongoing commitment to serving people and doing the right thing – for its employees, distributors, and most importantly, its customers. The company’s home office is located in Birmingham, Alabama, and its nearly 3,000 employees are located in offices across the United States. As of December 31, 2017, the Company had assets of approximately $79.6 billion. Protective Life Corporation is a wholly owned subsidiary of Dai-ichi Life Holdings, Inc. (TSE:8750). For more information about Protective, please visit www.Protective.com.
