Fitness tracker Swiss health insurance

Some health insurance companies offer discounts when you can prove your fitness activity using a fitness tracking bracelet or watch. Are discounts like that offered in Switzerland as well?

Thanks

Greetings,

There has been a trend in the insurance business towards harvesting data and using it to determine how much of a risk is posed by prospective clients.

Example: Real-time surveillance in car insurance. This trend is beginning to surface in Switzerland. Insurance companies track driver behavior and use the information to asses risk and to determine whether claims are founded. Ultimately insurance companies expect this information to result in fewer claim settlements and higher profits.

The same trend is emerging in the health insurance industry. Gaining unprecedented insight into your personal lifestyle habits via wearable devices makes it easy for insurance companies to categorize you based on how likely you are to experience health problems.

Currently, the few Swiss insurance providers which have hopped onto the wearable bandwagon primarily market this practice as a way to reward individuals who pay attention to physical fitness and engage in some form of exercise.

Using fitness wearables can, in some cases, act as a motivator and ecourage wearers to exercise more. If you are an exceptionally active person and are okay with sharing your data with your insurer, you may be able to save money by taking advantage of these discounts.

But this trend has raised alarm bells among consumer watchdogs. So far, insurance companies have primarily offered discounts to wearable users in order to  encourage them to turn over their information voluntarily. However, there is considerable concern that once this practice becomes mainstream, information harvested from these devices will be the primary factor in determining whether or not individuals are eligible for health insurance and what premiums they will be charged.

Best regards from Moneyguru