Manulife Financial Corp. is making its Vitality health and wellness platform available to Canadian group benefits plan members next year.
The platform, which connects with wearable devices such as smartwatches and fitness bracelets, is designed to help users make healthy choices and then rewards them with discounts and gift cards for doing so.
“We believe this program will help to revolutionize the way employees experience benefits in Canada,” said Donna Carbell, senior vice-president of group benefits at Manulife, in a press release. “We also know that having healthy employees matters to employers – it drives higher engagement, productivity and better overall organizational health.”
Read: Manulife partners with Vitality to reward healthy living
With eight million global users already on the platform, it’s been shown to help prevent chronic diseases, noted the press release. Drivers for these diseases, such as respiratory disease, diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular disease, include four lifestyle factors: physical inactivity, excessive drinking, smoking and unhealthy eating.
“The health of Canadians matters to us,” said Mike Doughty, president and chief executive officer of Manulife Canada. “By expanding Manulife Vitality to our group benefits customers, we have an opportunity to help encourage millions of Canadian workers to make healthy choices every day.”
The platform will be integrated into the employee benefits plan at no additional cost to plan sponsors. “Canadian companies can benefit by improving the health and well-being of their employees, which results in lower health-care costs and more productive work forces,” said Kailas Nair, vice-president of strategy and partnerships at Vitality Group.