| NEW YORK
Twice a
day, Scott Ozawa's Bluetooth-enabled toothbrush tells his dental insurer
if he brushed for a full two minutes. In return, the 41-year-old
software engineer gets free brush heads and the employer which bought
his insurance gets premium discounts. The
scheme, devised by Beam Technologies Inc, is just one of the latest
uses of technology by insurers hungry for more real-time information on
their customers that they say lets them assess risk more accurately and
set rates accordingly. In theory, everybody wins, as policyholders adopt better habits and insurance companies save money on claims.
However, there are concerns that insurers will eventually use the data they get to cherry-pick the best and most profitable customers, while hiking rates or even denying coverage to people who choose not to participate.
Full Article Via Reuters
