The financial rewards of leading a healthy lifestyle
You may have noticed Jessica Ennis appearing on adverts like this one recently, promoting ‘Vitality’, which makes sense, given the fact that she is, to most people, the embodiment of the word. ‘Vitality’ is in fact a programme, run by insurance company PruProtect, that you can use to help keep yourself fit and healthy, significantly reducing your life assurance or critical illness insurance premiums into the bargain. The added benefit is that you can also benefit from significant savings from an increasing number of organisations that are taking part in the programme.
How does it work?
1. You earn points by providing evidence that you take part in certain healthy activities, which can be recorded via pedometers and Polar watches.
2. Points are accumulated per year, per person.
3. These points lead to a reduction in your premiums, up to a certain maximum level.
4. You are also able to take advantage of loyalty discounts on premiums after two years and cash back after five years.
What sort of savings are available to help me get active?
Sometimes it is the cost of getting healthy that puts people off. So the ‘Vitality’ programme gives you discounts on health assessments, monthly gym membership fees and sessions to help stop smoking.
What about rewards to keep me motivated?
Getting and staying healthy takes time and effort. To keep your levels of motivation up, the programme gives you 75% discounts at health spas, a third off National Trust membership, 50% off Polar heart rate monitors and 50% off a pair of running shoes at Sweatshop.
Why is this programme being offered?
The providers of ‘Vitality’ – PruProtect – have worked out that when you’re healthy, you’re less likely to claim, which makes it cheaper for them. They are just handing on a proportion of the savings they make. The fitter you get and the longer you stay with PruProtect, the more your protection insurance premiums are discounted.
Are there any other discounts available?
You can get more from the ‘Vitality’ programme if you choose to upgrade to Vitality Plus, available at an extra premium, to get discounts from partners including Cineworld, Vue and Ticketmaster. You could get free movies, discounted concert, festival and West End tickets as well as save up to £15 per month on your mobile phone contract or 50% off the price of a new bike from Evans Cycles. Holidays could also be cheaper with discounts from Eurostar, Mark Warner and Thomas Cook. The more points you have earned under the scheme, the greater the money you can save.
Next steps
Whilst all this sounds attractive, especially if you are already fit and healthy for your age, you should of course make sure that the protection insurance policy you take out is the right one for you. If you would like to find out more about this programme or would like to get a competitive quote then please contact Marchwood IFA.