Electronic Health Reporter

Big Cloud Analytics Inc. (BCA), a leading provider of predictive analytics technology to the insurance and healthcare industries, announces that MLC, the wealth management division of the National Australia Bank Group, successfully implemented the MLC On Track Program powered by BCA’s COVALENCE Health Analytics Platform. MLC will introduce this program to thousands of customers in 2016, a remarkable start for Australia’s first wearable device wellness program.

“This program provides a unique alignment of interests,” says J. Patrick Bewley, CEO of Big Cloud Analytics. “Customers can monitor their health habits in real-time to see how their activity and sleep levels can affect their health scores while reducing their premium costs. Additionally, insurance providers become more engaged with their customers. Accessing massive amounts of longitudinal data and scores can significantly change how actuarial information has been derived for the past century. We are extremely pleased to play a key role in bringing this capability to life with MLC.”

The MLC On Track wellness initiative leverages Big Cloud Analytics’ COVALENCE analytics platform to capture, organize and score Internet of Things (IoT) data generated by the Intel Basis Peak fitness and sleep trackers and other data sources. This powerful data is presented to participants via personalized dashboards with actionable trends and scores, triggered messaging, content and programs. As a result, MLC is able to encourage and reinforce improved health behaviors for program participants.

“It’s a potential game changer for the industry,” says David Hackett, MLC’s executive general manager Insurance. “For too long, companies have relied on old ways to do business. We want to create more value for an insurance customer beyond just the policy itself.”

In the MLC On Track program, customers will be provided with target wellness scores, calculated by COVALENCE, based on several factors including step count, hours of activity, sleep duration and average resting heart rate. Much of that data are captured by Intel Basis Peak fitness and sleep trackers.

“The key is the provision of objective data. Wearable IoT devices, coupled with analytics scores, negate the use of subjective and self-reported data,” says Kate Burleigh, Managing Director at Intel Australia/New Zealand.

When customers meet the wellness targets during a 90 to 160-day period, the customer will receive a five percent discount on premiums. Additionally, customers are given two opportunities to capture the discount for a total of 10 percent off premiums for the life of their policy.

COVALENCE Health Analytics Platform: The Engine that Drives MLC On Track
COVALENCE, BCA’s proprietary health analytics platform, drives the analytics piece of MLC On Track by ingesting millions of data points from users in real-time and then arranging it in user-friendly dashboards designed for both MLC and individual program participants. The unique analytics presented in the dashboards are based on the large amount of contextual data generated by wearable device users. Ultimately, this reveals a deeper understanding of the population. For the user, it can also signal early warning signs of wellness challenges, detect biometric changes and predict bio-age, gender and Body Mass Index (BMI).

“By identifying new ways to assess and price insurance risk, we can cut costs for everyone involved,” says Fiona Guscott, chief underwriter at MLC. “More importantly, as we reward healthy decisions, we can all work to achieve the greater goal of prioritizing wellness.”

For more information on MLC On Track, click here.

BCA’s COVALENCE Health Analytics Platform is based on science from BCA co-founder Dr. V. Kumar PhD, the most published engagement data scientist in the world, based on his more than 25 years of customer engagement math and science. He also received medial guidance from population health expert Dr. Gaurov Dayal. For more information on the platform, click here.

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About Big Cloud Analytics
Big Cloud Analytics leads the market in real-time predictive analytics technology for the Internet of Things (IoT). Recognized in 2015 by Intel as a Health Innovation Award Finalist and by CIO Review as one of the Top 100 most promising companies in Big Data globally, the Company provides disruptive insurance solutions through its proprietary COVALENCETM Analytics Platform. Big Cloud serves Life and Health Insurance as well as Hospitals and Clinical Research.

For more information, visit www.bigcloudanalytics.com.

About MLC
As National Australia Bank’s wealth management division, MLC is committed to providing investment, superannuation, insurance and financial advice to our corporate, institutional and retail customers. Our wealth management expertise, coupled with the strength of being within the NAB Group, enables us to provide holistic financial solutions for our customers. You benefit from a bigger picture view of your financial opportunities, end-to-end financial solutions and the option to access a broader range of services. For over 125 years MLC has been helping our customers create the best possible future.