We earn with a fitness tracker up to $ 240 per year (if there is American insurance)

Fitness tracker Misfit

An unusual alliance was made by the American insurance company Oscar Health Insurance and the manufacturer of fitness trackers Misfit. Starting in January, each insured client of Oscar Health Insurance gets the opportunity to earn $ 20 a month ($ 240 a year), fulfilling the rate set for it for the distance covered.

Unfortunately, the premium is not given in cash, but by Amazon's gift cards, and such an income does not pay back the cost of insurance, but still this is a rather unusual and pleasant offer. At least, the fitness tracker becomes not a toy of the spoiled hipster-digerati, but a source of real income. In other words, from the point of view of financial management, it instantly turns from a liability to an asset.

According to the Oscar Misfit program, a person must travel a computer-set distance at least 20 days a month (well, if you have a sportsman friend, you can try to hang a gadget on it).
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On the one hand, it looks funny - the program sets a goal and pays money, and the king of animals runs and jumps at her command, like a trained mouse, hoping to get a piece of cheese. It looks like some kind of cyberpunk where computers unobtrusively direct the actions of people.

On the other hand, everything is logical. In principle, the program is similar to the one that has long been used in many automobile insurance. Car owners agree to install "bugs" from insurance companies in their cars - and get a discount for it. In turn, the company receives information on accidents and violations of the rules that the driver commits. Such a “bug” disciplines the driver and forces him to drive carefully.

Being accustomed to physical exertion, a person is less sick and turns to a doctor. Walking improves blood pressure, normalizes weight and has a good effect on the psyche. Accordingly, the client saves not only his health, but also the money of the insurance company.

In the future, the fitness tracker will probably be able to collect and transfer information about the patient's health to the insurance company: heart rate and pressure. Such statistics will allow to more accurately assess the risks of various diseases in the future - and, accordingly, more accurately calculate the cost of the insurance policy. (But privacy advocates advocates will definitely be shocked.)

Founded in 2013, the insurance company Oscar Health Insurance is trying to apply data mining and other innovative technologies. The company raised $ 155 million in venture capital investments from funds that usually fund dotcoms, not medical startups.