ProtectionDec 12 2013

Age is more than just a number

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We are heading inexorably towards the New Year and with that new milestone, a slew of well intentioned resolutions (yes, I’m getting that into a column even before January) aimed at, for the most part, improving our health.

Stopping smoking, cutting down on booze, dieting and exercise will all be high on the agenda as people up and down the country dust off their dumbbells, search out their running shoes and step onto the scales. Sadly, many people will drift back into the bad habits they enjoyed so much in 2013 before any positive effects can be seen. A large part of the reason for so many of these broken promises is simply that the incentive to “do the right thing” is too far down the road.

The promise of improved health in your retirement or a better body shape in 12 months seems too distant, compared to the instant gratification of that cake, cigarette or drink. That’s really the thinking behind our Vitality health and wellness programme. We give customers short, medium and long term discounts to get healthy, and give them rewards for engaging – like up front discounts on their protection premiums, opportunity to earn cashback every year, discounts on sports shoes and fitness devices, half price health checks, free stop smoking sessions, access to a leading weight loss programme, and even free cinema tickets. There is something to motivate even the comfiest of couch potatoes.

But first we help people understand their current health and allow them to identify the aspects of their lifestyle which could be improved. We do this by giving our members an online Vitality Age, arrived at by answering some simple questions about diet, exercise regime and their general health. Those in good shape will be pleased to see a Vitality Age lower than their real age, whereas those potentially in need of a resolution might receive a number greater than their actual lifespan.

What’s your Vitality Age? Visit pruprotect-vitalityage.com to find out.

Visit http://www.pruprotect-vitalityage.com/ to calculate your own Vitality Age. To get you started we’ve asked some well known faces from the Protection market to do the same:

• PR guru and Chairman of the Protection Review, Kevin Carr, has a Vitality Age of 38, accurately reflecting his actual age! Not bad for a man who lives on a diet of Champagne and fine dining.

• Founder of CI expert and award winning IFA, Alan Lakey, has a Vitality Age of 66 – slightly above his actual 61 years, one assumes because he has been toasting so much success in 2013.

• Our own Head of PR, Phil Jeynes, matches reality with a Vitality Age of 35 due, as his followers on Twitter will know, to weekends completely consumed by football.

• Sarah Fullaway, owner of Oviso Financial Services, is the star of the show though, with a Vitality Age of 30 – 2 years younger than her real age.

Of course, this is merely an indication and doesn’t necessarily mean that either anything is amiss or that all is well. But it’s a great way of starting to get customers involved in understanding their health and, crucially, engaging with their protection cover in a way they have never done before.

Justin Taurog is marketing and distribution director at PruProtect.