User Based (Health) Insurance?

I almost wanted a fitbit. I started to see a lot of them at work and in general. They seemed to grow in popularity like Crocs did 10 years ago. I decided to wait it out and watch people wear them. Did they lose weight? Did they get bigger and stronger? Did they walk more? Found out a lot of them just wear them as fashion statements that they have money to burn, or give me the excuse that it is to monitor their sleep.

I thought to myself. “If you get 8 hours of sleep, and you are tired, you probably aren’t sleeping well.” Which really equates to the same result.

At work, we have discussed user based insurance and how that will effect the future of vehicle insurance by offering customers who drive a lot less, a smaller bill based off the tracking device in their car. Just like how Progressive offers their snapshot.

If an older lady only drives her car to the store once a week in a peaceful and quiet town, just for groceries, the snapshot will report very little usage, thus, she is lower risk and her policy will reflect that. On the other hand though, if one drives like a douchebag, one will be higher risk and pay much more.

Now, with all the Affordable Health Care Act going on, would it surprise me if health insurers paid a large sum to… say fitbit as an example, to snapshot a person?

Fitness and health are already starting to be integrated into phones, keeping track of gps coordinates, speed, pictures of your (my) chubby face, and heart rate monitors. Even apps that tell you how drunk you are. I can see phone companies doing it.