In this first podcast of our four-part series “Life behind the numbers”, in partnership with Discovery Life, we look at the data to understand how our lifestyle choices influence the outcomes of disease and mortality risk.

What can we all do today to have a positive influence on tomorrow? By making proactive healthy lifestyle choices, we can minimise the risk of severe disease and even mortality.

Every life is unique, and everyone should be able to protect themselves from the risks that can affect any one of us, at any time. The reality is that risk is all around us and its nature is ever-changing.

Insurance statistics are a great way to understand the impact that lifestyle choices have on these risks, because an insurer or medical scheme will only pay out for an actual event.

With access to data, Discovery Life is able to measure the impact of lifestyle choices on our health.

What the numbers tell us about our lifestyle choices

In this podcast, brought to you by Discovery, we look at the figures to understand the health trends and discuss the extent to which healthy choices influence and improve the outcomes of disease and mortality risk.

We also look at how reward programmes are designed not only to encourage healthy lifestyle choices, but to enable clients to use rewards to invest for longevity.

We unpack the key illnesses that are driving claim statistics and the trends that we need to be aware of when it comes to our health. What are the more dominant risks we have been dealing with in recent years and what does that say about our lifestyle choices?

We explain how product design and rewards are used to encourage people to adapt their lifestyle choices, because when it comes to healthy living, insurers and clients’ interests are aligned. Healthier clients mean fewer claims.

We analyse the extent to which Discovery has seen the evidence coming through that people’s healthy choices are actually having an impact.

And finally, we deal with the issue that everyone faces – how do you balance the need to insure for an unexpected event against making sure you don’t outlive your money?