Fitness, sport and a healthy lifestyle are becoming increasingly important in our everyday lives. Health insurers that follow this current development are therefore increasingly relying on prevention services in combination with digital services. 

A pioneer of this trend is the German subsidiary of the global finance and insurance group AXA: the private health insurance announced a new tariff at the end of May with the offer "ActiveMe" in order to support its policyholders more strongly with health prevention in the future. The company is focusing specifically on digital support.

The prevention offer is aimed at health-conscious people who want to prevent illness through fitness and a healthy lifestyle and its numerous digital offers include an online consultation hour.

As a special feature of the new "ActiveMe" tariff, AXA offers telemedicine advice from an online physician, who can be consulted around the clock for diagnosis, prescriptions, referrals and disability certificates. 

In addition, AXA's offering includes supportive health apps and other preventative services such as bonuses and reimbursements for healthy behaviour.

PARADIGM SHIFT FOR PAYERS

Bonuses are provided in the AXA offer for the achievement of certain goals and vital values, such as a stable abdominal index in the normal range, regular exercise, smoking and participation in vaccinations, blood and bone marrow donations. 

The privately insured receive reimbursements of up to €200 per year for participation in sports courses and for purchases that promote their own health - whether yoga courses or exercise bikes.

As part of AXA's "My Health" service, policyholders can also communicate more easily with the doctor treating them, for example through a digital medication manager, an online doctor search and appointment and the digital health file. 

"This is a completely new approach in private health insurance, because the time is ripe for a paradigm shift in our healthcare system," said Dr Thilo Schumacher of AXA Germany. 

With its digital prevention programme, the insurance group is thus showing other cost bearers the way to digitalisation in the healthcare market. Last but not least, Schumacher emphasised that digital services can also noticeably reduce treatment costs.

Further information can be found here.

Anna Engberg is a Wiesbaden-based freelance journalist specialising in health and technology.