John Hancock, one of the oldest and largest North American life insurers, will stop underwriting traditional life insurance and instead sell only interactive policies that include optional fitness tracking through tools including wearable devices and smartphones, the company said on Wednesday. Interactive life insurance, pioneered by John Hancock's partner the Vitality Group, is already well-established in South Africa and Britain and is becoming more widespread in the United States. The insurer will begin converting existing life insurance policies to Vitality in 2019, it said. It is too early for John Hancock to determine if it is paying fewer claims because of its Vitality program, said Brooks Tingle, head of John Hancock's insurance unit. A spokesperson for Manulife said there is no update about a similar policy for Canadian insurance customers.

Source: CBC News September 20, 2018 17:40 UTC