Digital Health And Wellbeing In The Workplace
Insurance
Digital Health And Wellbeing In The Workplace
On March 9, 2022, we were proud to support the DWIC 2022 roundtable Advancements in Digital Health and Health and Wellbeing in the Workplace – Engagement for a Better Future.
The roundtable was attended by:
- Helen Yates – Conference Chair, Global Reinsurance
- Brad Boyson – Co-founder, HR Learn In
- Maciej Tomaszewicz Director – Insurance Transformation Lead, Deloitte ME
- Mahmoud Shalab – Head of Health Insurance Department, Union Insurance Company
- David Amehame – Regional Sales Manager – Fitbit, Middle East and Africa at Google
- Mazen Abouchakra – Managing Director, Regional Director Life/Health Dubai, Gen Re
- Georges Rehbane – Dubai General Manager, CME
The roundtable covered the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on people’s wellbeing, how the events of the past years have highlighted the importance of health awareness like never before, and how they have compelled organizations to ensure their people remain physically and mentally healthy, what this means to insurance, and how it is impacting their business model.
KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM EXPERTS
Mazen Abouchakra
Gen Re
Top management might think employee wellbeing is an expense. We rather see it as an investment. Studies show that a dollar spent on wellbeing is equivalent on average to 3 dollars of savings on healthcare costs and productivity. We’re more into VOI, rather than ROI.
Brad Boyson
HR Learn In
Today, the value of wealth creation comes from your intangible assets, and your workforce is at the core. It’s a talent market, organizations aren’t in a strong negotiating position. It’s both an exciting and challenging time because of the shift of how we think about the workforce.
David Amehame
Fitbit
We analyzed the pandemic’s impact: people have been affected by stress, sleep disorder, weight control. And work-life boundaries. We are trying to provide them with the tools and the knowledge to improve their wellbeing, by making the invisible visible, and by igniting action.
Maciej Tomaszewicz
Deloitte
In 20 years from now, 60% of healthcare spending will be preventative, compared to today’s 80% spend on treatments. Wellbeing programs, IoT devices and wearables collect data. The way organizations and insurers use that data is key for the future of the industry.
Mahmoud Shalab
Union Insurance Company
IoT-generated data will enable customization of insurance products to suit the customer’s lifestyle. Users’ data privacy is a challenge that all parties need to address. Another challenge is customer engagement with wellbeing programs, for insurers to have more sizable data to start building tailored offerings.
Georges Rehbane
CME
A key success factor lies in building a collaborative value chain (customer – tech provider – employer – insurer – reinsurer), an ecosystem that works seamlessly, while preserving the user’s privacy. A collaborative approach and proper partnerships are essential in achieving real value.
PARADIGM SHIFT: YOUR PEOPLE ARE YOUR ASSETS
- Companies are increasingly seeing the value of their people and the intellectual property they create for their employers.
- This trend pre-dates the pandemic, across many industries, leaders are concluding that 80-90% of their businesses’ value comes from intangible assets.
- Employees are prepared to leave their jobs to find ones that are more beneficial, in either a financial or lifestyle sense, for them.
- Businesses must shift to an outcome-orientated outlook, rather than being bound by traditional values, such as the amount of time an employee spends in the office.
WELLBEING ON TOP OF EMPLOYERS’ AND INSURERS’ AGENDA
- Wellbeing is on top of the agenda for successful businesses.
- The pandemic has underlined the importance of maintaining the health and wellbeing of employees.
- Businesses must care for their employees and provide assistance that allows them to look after their health, systems that respect boundaries of those of who work from home, and to ensure that they are mentally well.
- The result will be improved outcomes and increased retention.
PREVENTATIVE CARE: FROM ILLNESS TO WELLNESS
- Organizations of all sorts must embrace preventative care.
- In under 20 years’ time, today’s 80% global spending on treatment will be replaced by 60% spent on preventative care.
- Within the coming years, healthcare is predicted to move toward preventative care, less treatment, more prevention. Through the collection of data via wearables and IoT, insurance companies and healthcare providers can monitor the health of individuals and act accordingly before conditions become severe.
- The concept is to reduce the number of claims being made by providing systems that ensure people are healthier, through the use of data and behavior monitoring.
- Many risks can be prevented with advanced data capabilities and a newfound value chain:
Employee – Tech Provider – Employer – Insurer – Reinsurer.
CUSTOMER CENTRICITY AND MASS CUSTOMIZATION
- One size does not fit all and mass customization is the way forward.
- Mechanisms to help the insurance companies prevent risk from happening need to be in place. Insurers need to use their data to reach a maximum number of people and to focus on the client’s needs, to create an ecosystem, a value-chain approach to reach the client, engage them, and address exactly what they need.
- Going online led to price transparency and therefore stiff competition with insurance being perceived as commodity, mass customization can be used to create a competitive edge if implemented correctly.
IoT AND NEW DATA CAPABILITIES
- Products should be built around individuals and, with IoT and wearables, the insurance industry can measure the behavior of each customer to create new digital business models, differentiate themselves, provide better prices and lower their loss ratio.
- Data will allow any stakeholder to create a program that will fit the target and translate into savings.
- Companies need to address perceived and legal concerns about data privacy, from a consumer and a national standpoint.
- Customer data must result in a customizable product to address the needs of the client.
- Building partnerships that involve the handling of data will prove challenging, each and every player must be on board.
- Data moving between the user, their employer, the insurer, and the reinsurer will result in the replacement of statistical models with new behavioral-based models.
- The right of the individual to control their data must lie at the heart of every system developed around data use.
- Organizations need to understand the ethical challenges before they emerge and adjust their products and services accordingly and transparently.
SUCCESS STEMS FROM BUILDING THE RIGHT EXPERIENCE
- “Make the invisible visible”: Technology in wearables and smart water bottles gather data and enable the provision of insightful individual data and into the behavior change needed.
- Developing seamless apps or IoT devices, using gamification techniques such as goals, points, rewards, and leaderboards will improve engagement.
- The proper use of the collected data to extract information enables the building of wellbeing programs that can be personalized and engaging.
- Collection of the data takes place through IoT devices, solutions on top will leverage it in order to create a sustainable, long-term value.
BUILDING A TRUSTFUL ECOSYSTEM OF PARTNERS
- People are preparing for the next disruption; they are mentally ready for change and new solutions to problems.
- We cannot frame the future, so, look for the right partner, look for the right value creation chain and for the right experiences across the value chain
- In the UAE, labs are needed with InsureTek to participate in those labs and integrate this value chain and test these products. This needs a mindset shift from protectionist to collaborative.
- Collaborating more with stakeholders, the employer, the insurance company, and the technology provider will share the responsibility and need to work towards a common goal: employee health and wellbeing.
- Awareness is needed. Increasing the awareness of employees and individuals about wellbeing and looking after their health is paramount, as is securing the support of the companies’ leadership.
- We need to be dynamic in terms of our approach, nobody knows what the future will be.
- All stakeholders must take responsibility for data and come together to benefit society.
