John Hancock Becomes the First U.S. Life Insurer to Reward Consumers for Healthy Eating

BOSTON, April 6, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- John Hancock Insurance today announced an expansion of its game-changing John Hancock Vitality solution with the addition of the HealthyFood program. Now, John Hancock Vitality policyholders can earn rewards for the healthy food choices they make every day with real-time discounts and/or cash-back up to $600 a year on their grocery bills, and program points that lead to savings on their annual premiums -- as much as 15 percent.

First introduced one year ago, the John Hancock Vitality solution reinvented the life insurance experience to connect long-term health to financial well-being. The program provides savings and rewards to policyholders who complete health-related activities like exercising, getting an annual health screening or receiving a flu shot. Individuals have the option to track their physical activity with smartphone apps and devices like the Apple Watch and Fitbit.

The Vitality HealthyFood™ component takes the program a step further by rewarding policyholders for purchasing healthy food at any of the 16,000 participating stores nationwide, including Walmart and other major grocery chains in the NutriSavings network -- a complete list of included grocery stores can be viewed at http://www.nutrisavings.com/all-retailers/ .  Policyholders also gain nutritional information and guidance that will help them adopt healthier eating habits through a new collaboration with the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University.

"Over the past year, we've seen our customers embrace the John Hancock Vitality program. In fact, our policyholders are taking an average of 9,205 steps per day[i], compared to the average U.S. adult, who takes an average of 5,900 daily steps[ii]," said Michael Doughty, president, John Hancock Insurance. "But fitness without good nutrition is not nearly as impactful on your health as when you combine the two. Now, with the addition of the HealthyFood program, policyholders can be rewarded for both walking a few more steps and making healthy food choices to improve their overall health."

In the U.S., poor diet accounts for one out of four deaths (26%) or nearly 700,000 deaths each year.[iii] More than two-thirds of American adults age 20 and older are overweight or obese, as are 32 percent of children, according to the American Heart Association.[iv] Adopting a healthy diet and active lifestyle can help many Americans take control of their health and prevent heart disease and other chronic conditions.

"Policyholders also gain access to trusted science, resources, and other tools that will help them adopt healthier diets through a new collaboration with the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, the only graduate school of nutrition in North America, which will provide up-to-date and relevant guidance towards maintaining a healthy diet," said Dariush Mozaffarian, dean of the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University.

Similar programs abroad have been successful in influencing consumers to choose healthier foods. In South Africa, where the HealthyFood benefit was developed by Discovery Insurance, research has shown that offering cash-back can change consumer purchasing behaviors. When offered discounts of 10 percent and 25 percent for healthy foods, consumers increased the amount of money they spent on healthy food by 6 percent and 9.3 percent; increased the amount of fruit and vegetables they bought by 5.7 percent and 8.5 percent; and decreased the amount of less-healthy foods purchased by 5.6 percent and 7.2 percent, respectively.[v]  

"The John Hancock Vitality program has been our most successful launch, with great levels of interest and early adoption," said Alan Pollard, CEO, Vitality. "By introducing the HealthyFood benefit to its members, John Hancock continues to reaffirm our shared commitment to improving the lives of our customers."

The HealthyFood program is coming to life today in New York's Grand Central Terminal with an interactive John Hancock Vitality Marketplace. Visitors will be able to enjoy delicious healthy food samples and test their healthy food knowledge while earning rewards for the healthy choices they make, similar to the ones earned through the John Hancock life insurance with Vitality program. Renowned chef and restaurateur Tom Colicchio will stop by to serve up some tasty dishes and show visitors how to navigate healthy options when they're at the grocery store.

The John Hancock Vitality program is available on Term, Protection Universal Life, Accumulation Indexed Universal Life, Protection Indexed Universal Life, Accumulation Variable Universal Life and Simplified Life (easy-issue Variable Universal Life) products. John Hancock plans to add additional products to its Vitality portfolio later this year.

Visit JHRewardsLife.com for more details about John Hancock life insurance with Vitality and the HealthyFood program.

About John Hancock Financial and Manulife

John Hancock Financial is a division of Manulife, a leading Canada-based financial services group with principal operations in Asia, Canada and the United States. Operating as Manulife in Canada and Asia, and primarily as John Hancock in the United States, our group of companies offers clients a diverse range of financial protection products and wealth management services through its extensive network of employees, agents and distribution partners. Assets under management and administration by Manulife and its subsidiaries were C$935 billion (US$676 billion) as at December 31, 2015. Manulife Financial Corporation trades as 'MFC' on the TSX, NYSE and PSE, and under '945' on the SEHK. Manulife can be found on the Internet at manulife.com.

The John Hancock unit, through its insurance companies, comprises one of the largest life insurers in the United States. John Hancock offers and administers a broad range of financial products, including life insurance, annuities, investments, 401(k) plans, long-term care insurance, college savings, and other forms of business insurance. Additional information about John Hancock may be found at johnhancock.com.

About Vitality

The Vitality Group is a member of Discovery Ltd., a global financial services organization offering an incentive-based wellness program to employers as part of their benefits program. With a foundation based on actuarial science and behavioral economic theory, Vitality encourages changes in lifestyle that reduce health care costs, both in the short run and long term, by rewarding members for addressing their specific health issues. Vitality wellness programs serve companies in a wide range of sizes and industries, improving individuals' health and well-being as well as employers' bottom lines.

Vitality brings a global perspective through successful partnerships with large employers and best-in- class insurers around the world, in countries including the United States, United Kingdom, South Africa, China, Singapore and Australia. Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/VitalityUSA.

Insurance products are issued by John Hancock Life Insurance Company (U.S.A.), Boston, MA 02117 (not licensed in New York) and John Hancock Life Insurance Company of New York, Valhalla, NY 10595.

Vitality is the provider of the John Hancock Vitality Program in connection with policies issued by John Hancock.

Insurance policies and/or associated riders and features may not be available in all states.  The John Hancock Vitality Program is available with select John Hancock policies.  Please consult your financial representative as to product availability.

Premium Savings will apply based on the Status attained by the life insured.  Please consult your financial representative as to how premium savings may affect the policy you purchase.

John Hancock Vitality Program rewards and discounts are only available to the person insured under the eligible life insurance policy.

The HealthyFood benefit is available for qualifying purchases during the first Program Year regardless of Vitality Status. In subsequent program years, the benefit will only be available if the policyholder has achieved Gold or Platinum Status.  However, policyholders will continue to accumulate Vitality Points for their healthy food purchases no matter what their Vitality Status.

Rewards may vary based on the type of insurance policy purchased for the insured (Vitality Program Member), the ownership and inforce status of the insurance policy, and the state where the insurance policy was issued. Rewards and discounts are subject to change and are not guaranteed to remain the same for the life of the policy.
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[i] Vitality, as of Feb 29, 2016.

[ii] http://www.livescience.com/43956-walking-10000-steps-healthy.html

[iii] Murray CJ, Atkinson C, Bhalla K et al. (2013) The state of US health, 1990-2010: burden of diseases, injuries, and risk factors. JAMA 310(6):591-608.

[iv] http://www.heart.org/idc/groups/ahamah-public/@wcm/@sop/@smd/documents/downloadable/ucm_480086.pdf

[v] Sturm R, Ruopeng A, Segal D, Patel D. A cash-back rebate program for healthy food purchases in South Africa: Results from scanner data. American Journal of Preventive Medicine. 2013;

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SOURCE John Hancock Financial