New look Fidelity Life
New Zealand-owned Fidelity Life has taken on a new look and added a health care option to its offering.
Friday, March 6th 2020, 9:40AM 
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Fidelity Life chief executive Nadine Tereora said the rebrand, and launch of a healthcare app is the next step in the company's transformation which started when she took over the reins.
These are "key deliverables of Fidelity Life's ambitious transformation plans. Underpinned by a strong digital backbone, the strategy puts customers first while supporting the need for a strong, independent advice network, helping New Zealanders recognise the value of life insurance in their everyday lives".
Fidelity has entered a partnership with Sharecare, the global digital health company that helps people manage their health in one place. [Full Sharecare details below.]
"Life insurance has always been about protecting what's most important, and people everywhere are increasingly conscious of their health and wellbeing. We also know customers want something tangible from their life insurer," Tereora said.
The Sharecare app is about empowering customers to improve their health and wellbeing every day with a free app.
Fidelity, previously had a distribution relationship with nib, and is not adding a health insurance offering at this stage. Tereora says it is something which may happen in the future.
The app is about helping customers rather than being a tool to help reduce claims.
She says the brand changes are about making the business "genuinely sustainable" and "resilient" for the future.
Tereora said founder Gordon Watson would approve of the changes. "They are keeping in touch with his entrepreneurial spirit."
While Partners Life made big changes to its disability income products last week, Fidelity doesn't intend to follow suit.
"We don't have the same issues," Tereora says. "There are no immediate plans for change."
She says Fidelity will continue to be an intermediated business and is developing new tools and processes to help advisers. Currently the company has teamed up with Microsoft to build a new IT platform, called Watson. This is Microsoft's first life insurance partnership and a whole new system is being developed to replace what is currently being used.
ABOUT THE BRAND
Tereora says Fidelity Life's refreshed brand identity conveys the company's pride in its "New Zealand-ness" and takes inspiration from nature and the diverse people of New Zealand.
The 12-month-long brand project, which included detailed research and interviews with 2,000 consumers, highlighted the need to appeal to consumers and, most importantly, build trust.
"While we wanted to retain the good things we’re known for, such as being a New Zealand company, having integrity and doing the right thing, the findings clearly showed a need for change. We needed to shift from a brand that feels ‘corporate’, has low consumer awareness and doesn’t greatly differ from our competitors; to a brand that has broad appeal, especially to consumers, is aligned to our transformation plans and really stands out as distinctive in the market," Tereora says.
The Sharecare app is a little like AIA's Vitality app in that it encourages people to monitor and improve their health and wellbeing. However, Sharecare does not gamify the process in the same way. While Vitality policyholders can earn weekly rewards such as Airpoints, iTunes vouchers and movie passes, Fidelity policyholders go into a sweepstake to win prizes.
Sharecare, like Vitality, calculates a person’s actual age based on lifestyle factors and key indicators for health risks. Its RealAge test, is Sharecare’s proprietary and clinically validated assessment which calculates age.
With their RealAge as their baseline, Sharecare measures each person's daily progress towards their personal health goals using "green days" – which, when accumulated over time, can result in a lower RealAge. By reducing their RealAge, people take an active role in working towards happier, healthier and longer lives.
The Sharecare app will be free and provide a localised experience for the New Zealand market. Advisers will be the first to have access in early April, followed by Fidelity Life customers in May.
Sharecare will become available to all New Zealanders for free later in 2020.
Sharecare Australia and New Zealand managing director Riaan Rheeder says internationally, more than 45 million people have taken the RealAge test.
This is the company's first tie up with a life insurance company.
"[We are] transforming our business for a successful and sustainable future, with our customers at the centre of everything we do," Tereora said.
| « Woman 'forgotten' during advice process | Partners puts hold on redundancy cover » |
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Or am I showing my complete ignorance about marketing?
I have always thought "brand" equals what the market thinks of us. That's not necessarily the same as what we want to represent to the market or in other words what we want the market to think of us.
Maybe I've just doubled down on my ignorance.
Disclaimer - I claim no expertise in marketing. Considering the experts' responses to my question will enable me to claim some practice management - marketing CPD credits!