Uber and UberEats To Start Rewarding Healthy Living

Uber and Uber Eats have partnered with health insurer Vitality Health International (VHI) as a strategic rewards partner with the aim of rewarding healthy behavior for members of the Vitality program. 

Vitality Health International, an innovative health insurer from South Africa, launched in Kenya in January 2022, bringing its ground-breaking health insurance offering and science-based behavior-change program, Vitality. Its ambition was to encourage people to lead a healthier lifestyle and decrease their health risks in the long term. 

On 1 March 2023, VHI launched a new suite of insurance offerings and exciting additional rewards partners to the Kenyan market.

“The foundation of the shared-value model is to reward people for healthier behaviors, which brings down the insurance risk and contributes towards a healthier society over time,” says Emma Knox, CEO of Vitality Health International.

For most, the value of health insurance is only visible when people are older or sick. With health insurance aimed at sharing value with everyone, the rewards, quality, and immediate value are also visible to the young and healthy who are physically active, take up preventive screening, and make healthy lifestyle choices.

“Our health insurance model with Vitality at its core, is highly relevant in the context of the changing landscape,” says Knox. “We are proud to add Uber and Uber Eats to our growing list of partners – each playing a critical role in offering valuable rewards that entice our members to make healthier choices.”

Since its launch in 2022, Vitality Health International has been gaining momentum in bringing health insurance that rewards healthy living to employer groups in Africa. Knox says, “Our parent company, Discovery, pioneered the Vitality Shared-value Insurance model in South Africa, building successful partnerships globally with leading insurers. Today, Discovery operates in 40 markets, impacting the lives of more than 30 million people globally.” 

Wangui Mbugua, General Manager at Uber Eats Kenya, says: “Uber and Uber Eats are very popular in Kenya and our teams are on the move in major cities country-wide, especially in Nairobi and Mombasa. We are delighted to partner with Vitality Health International to provide much-loved Uber vouchers to reward members when they achieve their healthy lifestyle and physical activity goals. It’s a win-win for everyone!”

Vitality Health International’s key differentiator

Vitality is a science-based behavior-change program that has been proven through independent research to positively affect health outcomes. The Vitality program is embedded in the Vitality Health International health insurance model. This dynamic behavior-change program combines data analytics with rewards and incentives to encourage people to make healthier choices. The shared-value approach enables employees, employers, and Vitality Health International to share in the value and benefits of healthy behavior by lowering healthcare costs for employers and employees while decreasing the claims risks for Vitality Health International. 

Employers are rewarded with a cashback of up to 10% for encouraging their employees to get healthy. The Vitality Health Fund, which members can unlock when they complete their Vitality Health Review, extends the employees’ outpatient benefits by up to $100, based on completing Vitality health assessments and positive engagement with the Vitality program.

Employees can earn weekly rewards with Vitality Health International’s exciting range of rewards partners, including Safaricom, Jumia, Uber, Uber Eats, and Garmin, where employees can redeem vouchers for achieving their goals, or choose to donate towards a life-changing vaccine. By completing their weekly goals (including personalized, mental, fitness, and lifestyle goals), members close their virtual ‘fuel bar’ and successfully earn rewards. They can choose from the full suite of rewards partners to redeem vouchers, or even shop at the Vitality online store.