Manulife extends rewards-driven insurance to Canada
Manulife is offering Canadians a life insurance policy that rewards customers for healthy lifestyles. Launched last year in the US, the "Vitality" programme awards customers bronze, silver, gold or platinum status based on points earned for activities such as exercise, getting a flu jab, or completing an annual health screening. Customers' status levels are used to determine the annual cost of insurance and also their eligibility for rewards, which include subsidised gym membership. Users can check their points totals, record workouts and read health and fitness articles on the Vitality app.

Program lets customers receive perks and earn points for healthy living

Manulife is offering Canadians “Vitality,” a life insurance policy that rewards customers for healthy living. The program, which launched in the U.S. last year, awards customers points when they do activities such as exercise, undergo an annual health screening and get a flu shot.

Vitality customers can earn a bronze, silver, gold and platinum status based on the number of points they earn each year. Their status determines their eligibility for rewards and the annual cost of their insurance.

Manulife is offering policy-holders a subsidized gym membership at GoodLife Fitness/Énergie Cardio, and will continue to partner with other companies to offer more rewards. On the Vitality app, users can check their points, log a workout and read articles on health and fitness.

“We recognized that there was a growing interest in taking care of one’s health and that there was an opportunity to be involved in that space proactively,” said Glenn Hollis, Manulife’s senior vice-president and chief marketing officer, Canadian division.

“It made sense that we would have an increasing conversation with our customers and our advisors who would have that conversation, and help to encourage them. It really was to be more proactive, more engaging and more relevant with our customers. This product fit perfectly with that.”

Vitality customers can track their exercise activities through wearable technology. Manulife is providing vouchers for a free bilingual Garmin vivofit3 wearable, but other devices that customers own can be used to track participation and earn points. Members who don’t want to use wearable technology can track their health-related activities separately.

Asked if Canadians will be comfortable having that type of data tracked, Hollis said Manulife knows people are interested in tracking their progress and their data will be incredibly secure. “We don’t have access to their health data; we simply understand through a third party what their progress is with respect to points, so that we can reward them,” he said.

To support the rewards program, Manulife has launched a marketing campaign that kicked off with an event at Toronto’s Yonge-Dundas Square on Sept. 27. The centre of the activation was a boxing ring featuring a “workout computer” whose keys were large green punching bags. People were invited to put on boxing gloves and punch in their answer to the question, “what do you live for?” The event was hosted by former Toronto Argonauts coach Michael “Pinball” Clemons and also included free bike repairs and fresh fruit.

A national advertising campaign focuses on rewarding everyday healthy choices and includes TV, online videos and out-of-home executions in Toronto. In English Canada, Clemons is featured in the TV spots and online videos, while in Quebec, Olympic women’s hockey coach Danièle Sauvageau will be featured in online videos.

Manulife’s AOR DentsuBos created the campaign, Mindshare handled the media planning and buying, Weber Shandwick put together the boxing-ring stunt and is handling PR and Suneeva created the video of the stunt.