Vivametrica Works With Munich Re to Validate Physical Activity as a Predictor of Mortality

PR Newswire

CALGARY, Alberta, Feb. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Vivametrica's founders have been studying the effect of physical activity on disease and mortality for over 25 years. So, the fact that there is strong evidence supporting physical activity as a powerful predictor of mortality and indicator of health risk is not news to the Vivametrica team.

What is news, is the introduction of physical activity measurement into the insurance industry. For the past year, Vivametrica has been working closely with insurers, and reinsurers such as Munich Re to validate the importance of physical activity as a predictor of mortality and disease risk. In a recently published white paper, "Stratifying mortality risk using physical activity as measured by wearable sensors", Munich Re describes these findings: "Munich Re's analysis found that steps per day can effectively segment mortality risk even after controlling for age, gender, smoking status and various health indicators." These findings may be as important for the insurance industry as determining the impact of smoking on mortality. At one point, smoking was not considered very important as a predictor but is now a foundation for most health and life insurance applications. In fact, Vivametrica has identified physical activity to be ten times more predictive of mortality than smoking behaviour in some populations.

Vivametrica Founder and CEO Dr. Rick Hu described, "The relationship between health and physical activity has been known for some time. However, Vivametrica is the first to quantify this in personalized and meaningful ways that are predictive and valuable to the individual and to insurers and health care providers."

With the advancement of sensor technology and the ability for smartphones and wearables to objectively collect digital biomarkers such as physical activity, new underwriting data can now be considered. Vivametrica is at the forefront of analyzing and applying this data in meaningful ways.

"We at Vivametrica are excited to have collaborated with Munich Re to highlight these important findings. The impact of physical activity as a strong predictor of mortality cannot be underestimated. There are implications for risk assessment, underwriting, wellness and customer engagement. Vivametrica continues to lead the industry in evidence-based analytics that provide a deeper understanding of the relationships between health behaviours, disease and mortality," said Christy Lane, Ph.D., Founder and COO of Vivametrica.

For more information, visit www.vivametrica.com

Vivametrica is a health analytics company that provides a measurement of mortality and chronic disease risk using digital biomarkers developed from personal sensor data. Vivametrica was started in 2013 by physicians and researchers with expertise in big data, physical activity, wearable devices, and evidence-based health measurement. Members of the team are also founders of the Wearable Health Lab at Stanford University. Vivametrica's patent-pending algorithms are based on the world's largest known population-based dataset including physical activity. Analyses are used by life and health insurers to streamline underwriting, personalize insurance products, and provide engagement tools to customers. Vivametrica's device-agnostic platform also supports health and wellness organizations.

Munich American Reassurance Company—Munich Re US, (Life), founded in 1959, is one of the largest reinsurers in the U.S. offering life and disability reinsurance to insurance companies throughout the United States. The company also writes group, credit and other reinsurance products. Headquartered in Atlanta, with offices in Chicago and New York, the company is licensed, accredited or authorized in all fifty states; Washington, D.C.; Guam; and Puerto Rico.

Munich Re stands for exceptional solution-based expertise, consistent risk management, financial stability and client proximity. This is how Munich Re creates value for clients, shareholders and staff. In the financial year 2016, the Group – which combines primary insurance and reinsurance under one roof – achieved a profit of €2.6bn. It operates in all lines of insurance, with over 43,000 employees throughout the world. With premium income of around €28bn from reinsurance alone, it is one of the world's leading reinsurers. Especially when clients require solutions for complex risks, Munich Re is a much sought-after risk carrier. Its primary insurance operations are concentrated mainly in ERGO, one of the leading insurance groups in Germany and Europe. ERGO is represented in over 30 countries worldwide and offers a comprehensive range of insurances, provision products, and services. In 2016, ERGO posted premium income of €16.0bn. Munich Re's global investments (excluding insurance-related investments) amounting to €219bn are managed by MEAG, which also makes its competence available to private and institutional investors outside the Group.

Media Contact for Vivametrica:

Rosabel Bong

Communications Manager

Phone: (587) 700-0311

Email: rosabel@vivametrica.com

Related Links

Vivametrica

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