It is a stone in the pond that throws us the analyst Barry Collins. The researcher of CCS insight believe that Apple will soon enter the health insurance market. It is not the first time that the brand has investigated the issue of guarantees: with the AppleCare + service, it is already possible to protect your Mac or iPad for a monthly or semi-annual fee.
This time, however, it would be your health coverage. CCS insight believes that Cupertino intends to take advantage of data collected by its Apple Watch to adapt its offer. From there, to see a more accurate pricing according to your current form, there is only one step. The solution, which is quite intelligent, is reminiscent of what certain franchises in the US offer with connected wristbands. Or the apps that reward you when you drive well and, on the contrary, record fines.
What matters
It must be said that Apple keeps very encouraging statistics to try to set a price that corresponds to the state of health of the users. Among these can be mentioned in particular blood oxygen level, body temperature, heart rate, electrocardiograms, sleep recordingthe results in sports training…
Thanks to this key information, Apple should even take the opportunity to make lower the bill and attack the competitors head-on with its insurance offer. For example, we imagine that those who respect their watch’s advice to move more, or who complete their activity rings, will be entitled to a more interesting subscription. On the contrary, the price may increase if the fall detection function is triggered too often.
Privacy concerns
This announcement did not fail to make people react: many fear that the management of our health data mixed with commercial goals risks putting them in danger. But this is without counting the official argument from the company on the apple, which ensures that all these numbers are anonymized and not sold on to advertisers (which is not always true).
Moreover, it is not today that insurance companies are leveraging connected objects to learn more about their customers. But will lawmakers agree to see a new player land more than two trillion dollars on the market? Not sure.
By: Keleops AG