Greg Levine: Helping your client live longer is easier than you think
When it comes to encouraging your clients to form healthy habits that last, new evidence has proved that small, consistent behavioural changes can have a big impact on their lifespan at any age, writes Greg Levine, Chief Operations and Growth Officer Vitality.
Take out cover as young as possible and don’t leave it too late. That’s typically the industry mantra to clients considering their health and protection options.
As none of us know what’s around the corner, this is certainly sound advice. Especially as the cost of cover rises as we get older.
But when it comes to helping people make healthier lifestyle choices – a growing area of focus for our industry – it’s never too late, according to our recent ground breaking Habit Index research conducted with the London School of Economics (LSE).
In fact, the biggest benefits we see are when people over 50 adopt healthy behaviours1. This makes offerings like the Vitality Programme more inclusive than you might think - a reminder it’s not only suited to those young, fit and already-active clients.
Habits are hard to break
There’s no escaping the fact that the habits we adopt over time dictate a lot of the decisions we make.
In fact, almost 50% of our daily lives are controlled by habits, which, according to experts, are defined as patterns of behaviour driven by a specific desire, that become automatic through repetition.
They are also remarkably resilient. Once those behaviours become ingrained, they’re much more likely to stick.
And worryingly, the choices many people make today are contributing to our nation’s declining rates of health and wellbeing.
UK health in decline
In recent years, improvements in life expectancy have stalled2 and increasing numbers of people are living in poor health. It’s projected that by 2040, almost one in five of the adult population of England will be living with a major illness3.
Modifiable lifestyle choices and behaviours, such as physical inactivity, poor diet and excess alcohol consumption – which combined account for around 70% of deaths worldwide – are increasingly putting pressure on public healthcare systems1.
Meanwhile, more than five million people are living with diabetes in the UK. Preventable type 2 diabetes now accounts for 90% of cases and 10% of the NHS’ annual budget is spent on diabetes treatments alone4. Illnesses relating to obesity are costing as much as £6.5bn annually5.
This also impacts the wider economy, with productivity losses driven by the declining health of the UK workforce and record numbers of people out of work due to ill-health6.
Never too little
The good news, however, is that we can harness the power of habits to help people change their health for the better and live longer.
Findings published in the Habit Index report highlight that adopting even just simple, healthy habits – such as walking – can add up to three years to our life expectancy when sustained for a period of two years1.
If half of the UK’s inactive population did 5,000 steps just three times a week, it could save the NHS as much as £15bn1.
Consistently walking 7,500 steps five times a week can reduce mortality risk by 27%, whilst walking 10,000 steps three times a week can reduce diabetes risk by as much as 41% and stage 4 cancer risk by 36%1.
Also significant is that people who adopt more achievable habits like walking more – how most Vitality members earn points – are 1.5 times more likely to maintain it, compared with people who immediately start exercising with high-intensity workouts1.
By starting small, clients can then focus on building frequency and consistency over time, rather than starting too big and seeing it immediately drop off.
Not only that. Healthy habits breed other welcome behaviours. For example, maintaining three or more physical activity days a week is associated with a 10% improvement in healthy eating too1.
Never too late
Better still, adopting healthier habits is something clients can benefit from at any age. In fact, we see some of the biggest benefits amongst our older members.
Those over the age of 65 benefit from a 52% reduction in mortality risk when they sustain a routine of physical activity three or more times a week, for just three years1.
We also see big improvements in nutritional habits in older people, with those over the age of 65 most likely to adopt healthy food habits, which again can have a big impact on long-term health and life expectancy1.
A nudge in the right direction
We know though that despite our best intentions and even recognising the benefits, it’s not always easy to stick to healthy habits and the goals we set ourselves.
Sometimes, what we need are little regular nudges and the potential for reward to keep us on track.
This is where behaviour-change programmes like the Vitality Programme can be especially transformative, and the results speak for themselves.
By engaging in the Vitality Programme, members increase their physical activity by 13% and their diet by 20%. In 2023 alone, members recorded 992bn steps, did over 600,000 health reviews and enjoyed 1.4m healthy food baskets from Waitrose & Partners7.
And this shared-value approach benefits everyone. Highly active members on average incur 28% lower healthcare costs and live up to 4.8 years longer*, which means Vitality can return more value through rewards and partners (a total of £82m during 2023)7.
*Based on members who earn 21+ activity points a week throughout their lifetime.
And the best bit for advisers? Well, aside from helping your clients improve their health and live longer (arguably the best possible outcome), those who engage are also less likely to cancel. This is because the Vitality Programme and their insurance cover can become embedded into your client’s daily life and be the catalyst they need to form healthy habits that stay in place over time.
Where to next?
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Five truths about Vitality that might surprise you
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Vitality’s Health and Life proposition can benefit more people than you might think, writes Vitality’s Chief Operations and Growth Officer, Greg Levine.
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Gemma's Story
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When Gemma wanted to get active after having her first child, her Vitality plan provided her with the boost and incentives, and she discovered being active didn’t have to be as strenuous as running or regularly hitting the gym.
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Gwen's Story
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When Gwen decided to "rewire" - rather than retire - it was the additional benefits offered through the Vitality Programme that helped her decide to keep her PMI in place.
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2. ‘What is happening to life expectancy in England?’, The Kings Fund, April 2024
3. 'Health in 2040: projected patterns of illness in England’, The Health Foundation, July 2023
4. ‘How many people in the UK have diabetes’, Diabetes UK, accessed August 2024
5. ‘Government plans to tackle obesity in England’, Department for Health and Social Care, June 2023
6. Sick people leaving workforce at record highs - BBC News
7. Vitality Health Claims Insights Report 2024.