Mihkel Mandre, founder of Lyfery: Lyfery has brought truly personalized life insurance to the market in Estonia for the first time. Our goal is to value health behavior and healthy lifestyles, as well as to reward and recognize risk-preventing behavior. After choosing Lyfery life insurance, we will assess the client’s health behavior once a year, with their consent. Based on the client’s personal Lyfery health score, we can offer discounts on insurance premiums. In the long run, we aim to share science-based recommendations and, in collaboration with partners, provide various health services. Our goal is not only the financial security that life insurance offers, but also to clarify the connections between health behavior and risks, helping to prevent diseases and extend the number of years lived in good health.
In both this and the following stories, we will delve deeper into the health behavior model and the impact, significance, and essence of its various categories, with the assistance of Kristiina Paju, MD, a resident physician at the University of Tartu.
What does the Lyfery health behavior model consist of?
To assess each client’s lifestyle honestly and objectively, we are developing a unified Lyfery health behavior model. We plan to gather insights on lifestyle factors that are generally most important for health through a questionnaire (and in the future, possibly through devices like smartwatches). In addition to the insurance premium discount, this also offers the opportunity to reflect on one’s health once a year and, if desired, to adjust certain factors (e.g., changing alcohol consumption or increasing the proportion of fruits in the diet).
Lyfery’s core value is scientific basis, which is why we continuously develop our model. Currently, our health behavior model takes into account the number of steps taken daily, time spent on exercise weekly, smoking, alcohol consumption, and the use of risk-preventing health services.
Why this specific choice?
Evidence-based approach. Each area we study is independently linked to health risks for individuals. For example, a lifelong smoker loses an average of 10 years of life due to smoking (source 3.2.1.3), and increasing weekly alcohol consumption by 10 units (e.g., five half-liter beers) can raise mortality by 18% (including from cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and liver disease). (source)
Frequency. In the Lyfery scoring model, we have included only those factors that are very common in Estonia and affect almost all clients’ lives. While health risks can also arise from dangerous drugs, their frequency is lower in Estonia, which is why they are not currently part of the Lyfery score.
Empowerment. Each area in the Lyfery health behavior scoring model can be influenced to some extent by the client themselves. None of us can choose which genetic risks we inherit, but everyone can make somewhat better choices regarding their physical activity and harmful habits. Some factors may require long-term intervention, but with the right support and assistance, most motivated individuals can significantly change their health behavior. We want to support our clients on this journey.
Convenience. We understand that everyone has only 24 hours in a day, and life insurance is just one of many responsibilities that require attention. Therefore, we prioritize the time of Lyfery clients by collecting information only online, without the need for doctor visits or blood tests.
Our goal is to obtain a multifaceted overview of Lyfery clients’ behavior in order to share health dividends for reasonable health behaviors. We want clients who take care of their health to benefit even if there is room for improvement in a specific area, such as when the number of daily steps remains modest despite an otherwise healthy lifestyle.
In the following posts, we will introduce the Lyfery health behavior scoring model in more detail, explain why we have chosen these specific factors, and show in which direction we plan to further develop the model.
Lyfery’s Health Behaviour Model Today: 5 Factors That Lower Your Life Insurance Payment
The Exciting Future of Lyfery’s Health Behavior Model: Seven Key Ways to Maintain Your Health
The project “Technological development, testing, and demonstration of components of a healthy lifestyle scoring model” has received €34,580 in development grant support.
As part of the project, a model was developed to assess healthy lifestyle habits, enabling the cost-effective offering of life insurance that supports healthier living. The goal is to create a scalable, health-promoting product that can be expanded across Europe.
As a result of the project, the Lyfery app now measures lifestyle-related mortality risk on an individual customer basis.