What you need to know
- Health insurance companies are realizing the benefits of Apple Watch.
- John Hancock is offering a discounted Series 5.
- Wearers earn points to pay for the watch.
Health insurance companies seem to be learning that Apple Watch can help it save money by getting people moving. Insurance company John Hancock is now offering customers an Apple Watch Series 5 for just $25 if they use it to become more active. Presumably saving the company money in the long run.
The new John Hancock Vitality Apple Watch program, spotted by 9to5Mac, sees customers receive an Apple Watch Series 5 in 40mm size for $25, although they can pay more and upgrade to a cellular or 44mm model instead.
No matter which they buy, the program works the same. Customers earn points by meeting movement targets. Those targets differ depending on a customer's fitness levels, with the aim being to accrue enough points to cover the monthly payment towards the watch.
Whether they like to walk, run, bike or swim, it's easy for participants to share their activities and earn points that go toward monthly payments for their watch over a two-year period. John Hancock Vitality members are able to fully fund their watch by meeting monthly physical activity targets.
If customers don't meet their goals, they have to pay for the watch over the course of two years.
John Hancock presumably believes that by getting people moving and encouraging them to be more active it can save money on medication and procedures in the longer term. It could be years before we know whether that's actually how things pan out, or if all the injuries people sustain though their newfound need to exercise balances it all out.
Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too.
Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.
