Recent medical advances, from cancer detection tests and personalized medicine to weight management and dementia diagnostic tools, have spawned a wealth of new insurance product innovations.
Innovation creates more innovation. For life and health insurers, medical breakthroughs often bring new possibilities and spur new directions in consumer-focused product development.
This article examines how medical advances are driving innovation in life and health insurance products. These products have the potential to benefit insured lives and support business growth. This article focuses on advances in seven key areas:
Insurance companies are incorporating genetic testing as part of their benefits or as a value-added service to their policyholders. For instance, in South Africa, an RGA-supported program with a life insurance company offers a cancer-only critical illness product that includes an additional 10% of the sum assured for a specialized precision genetic test and treatment plan if the insured and treating specialist choose to have the test done.
Another example is with a US-based healthcare company that leverages genetic information to develop precision healthcare tools. This company has partnered with a US life insurance provider to offer a genetic risk assessment service to policyholders. The program provides individuals aged 35 to 70 with a saliva test that identifies hidden risks for eight common conditions.
Policyholders receive actionable, tailored health advice and a report they can review with their doctor to reduce the chances of developing any of the indicated conditions.
Individual results are not shared with the insurer and do not impact current premiums or policies. However, the insurer receives high-level anonymized data, which allows it to better understand aggregated policyholders’ health and behaviors.
A US-based healthcare company has partnered with several life insurance companies to offer a multi-cancer early detection (MCED) test. The test can identify signals from more than 50 types of cancer and localize them to specific tissues or organs. Eligible life insurance policyholders can use this test to detect cancer early and to improve outcomes through timely intervention. Again, insurers receive only aggregated, anonymized data.
RGA supported an insurance company in Hong Kong to launch a cancer medical reimbursement product that has a first-in-market benefit that offers financial support for local and overseas experimental drugs up to HK$1.5 million. This benefit serves as an alternative treatment option for late-stage cancer patients. To qualify for the experimental drugs benefit, the insured must be diagnosed with a stage III or IV covered cancer, or terminal blood cancer.
More insurance companies globally are incorporating optional GLP-1 drug coverage into their offerings to address weight management.
A US health insurance company is also providing access to various value-added services, such as one-on-one lifestyle counseling and personalized nutrition planning from a registered dietitian, as well as connected devices such as a scale to help chart progress.
An insurance company in Korea offers an accidental death benefit product with the option to add a rider that covers GLP-1 medications not covered by the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS). To be eligible for the GLP-1 benefit, policyholders must have a BMI of 30 or higher, been diagnosed with at least one major metabolic disease, such as hypertension, diabetes, or dyslipidemia, and been prescribed a non-NHI-covered GLP-1 drug for obesity treatment at a tertiary (advanced general) hospital.
A Japanese pharmaceutical company has launched a dementia care insurance product that promotes early detection and treatment of dementia by covering the cost of amyloid PET imaging tests, a diagnostic tool that uses a radioactive tracer.
The policy also offers access to an ancillary self-assessment service that supports early dementia detection by identifying cognitive decline. Additionally, the product provides a lump-sum benefit for mild cognitive impairment upon first diagnosis.
In addition, RGA supported a client in Korea in launching a long-term care (LTC) insurance product covering early-stage dementia. It includes access to relevant services to help patients diagnosed with mild dementia, including a prevention program to manage dementia progression and care services for two years.
In Canada, an insurance company has partnered with a health technology company to offer remote monitoring benefits to claimants of its critical illness product.
This collaboration provides a connected health kit, enabling claimants to take clinical vital sign measurements and engage in two-way feedback with healthcare professionals through surveys, text messaging, and video calls.
Additionally, the service includes daily reminders and notifications. Access to this service is available for up to six months at no cost, with an option to continue remote monitoring services thereafter for a monthly fee.
Another Canadian life insurance company partnered with a US-based digital health company to enhance health monitoring for its employees and policyholders. This partnership provides access to health products – including smart blood pressure monitors, wireless scales, and wearable ECG devices – for a fee. These devices connect to a mobile app that automatically synchronizes users’ health measurements, allowing them to set reminders, track health trends, and monitor their health over time. Users can also send their data directly to their authorized doctor via a doctor-patient portal, which analyzes data for doctors to remotely monitor their patients.
Insurance companies are leveraging AI-powered assessment tools to enhance early cancer detection and assess health factors for their policyholders. In the Netherlands, a digital health company specializing in AI-powered skin cancer detection technology has partnered with various health insurers across Europe to provide its mobile application designed for early diagnosis.
Using the company’s clinically validated AI algorithm, the app analyzes photos of moles and skin spots to assess the risk of skin cancer, detecting signs of the most common skin cancers with up to 95% sensitivity, according to company data.
Users are informed of whether the spot is categorized as low, medium, or high risk.
In South Africa, an insurance company has adopted remote photoplethysmography (rPPG) technology to enable contactless health monitoring through smartphone cameras. The insurer employs biometric facial screening and a few mandatory questions, such as medical aid membership and exercise routines, to allow policyholders to complete their annual reassessments on their smartphones. This technology assesses health risk factors for insurance premiums, including the client’s blood pressure, heart rate, stress levels, and oxygen saturation. Policyholders can receive a discount of up to 35% on their monthly premiums based on their screening results.
These are just some examples of product development arising from medical advances that are impacting human lives – and the future of insurance.
With potential for mortality and morbidity improvements on the horizon, insurers who judiciously leverage medical advances in product development stand to gain a competitive edge.
Contact us today to learn more about how to partner with RGA to support your product development efforts.
