End o'The Week LinkFest

“Once you sign up, John Hancock [Life Insurance Company]sends you a Fitbit monitor as one way to track your fitness. You earn Vitality Points for your activities. As you accumulate points … the more you save each year on your life insurance premiums.”

Well, our friend Holly R tips us that the venerable carrier has gone “all in” on both the tech and the pricing:

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 track fitness and health data through wearable devices

— Horace Dediu (@asymco) September 19, 2018

■ The folks at the Income Protection Resource Group tip us to this interesting new product from The Standard that enhances their already outstanding disability insurance products. Via email:

“Most income protection policies pay benefits only when your client can’t work due to their own injury or sickness. But what if their family member becomes seriously injured or seriously sick?“

Turns out, there’s an app, er, a rider for that:

“The Family Care Benefit can help your client take time for caregiving. This benefit provides cash to replace lost income due to working fewer hours and earning less income to care of a family member.”

It’s included standard (heh) with their Platinum Advantage series plans. Very nice, indeed.

■ And finally, our friends at Global Underwriters have this heads’ up:

“Most tour groups and many Countries are now Requiring that International Travel Medical Insurance be purchased prior to arrival in their country.”

This makes sense, as medical emergency or other issue tends to be disruptive (and often expensive). And of course, plans that include Medical Evacuation are especially helpful, since this can cost travelers thousands of additional travel dollars.