Health Benefits of Smart Appliances

If our eyes give us the power to see misery and want, if our greatest power is the ability to change what we see—to improve the lives of the poor, hearing their sighs and lessening their sorrows—then insurers can do likewise. More to the point, insurers can help those of many means save one: the will to waste not. The will to be neither wasteful nor wanton in the purchase of food. The will to be neither bold nor brazen in feeding the ego while starving the soul. The will to be neither overly proud nor possessive about fields of gold, whose minerals are more valuable than any metal, whose minerals sustain livelihoods, whose minerals save lives. Insurers must see this situation for themselves, so they may understand the urgency of this issue. Insurers must see to it that people learn to care about this issue, so people may take better care of themselves. Put another way, insurers can help policyholders be morally solvent by being fiscally sound; reminding people to stock their respective food banks before filling their bank accounts with a surplus of stocks and bonds, because the average family throws out about $2,275 in food annually. That fact is unconscionable. That fact should shock the conscience of the insurance industry to act, to provide better health insurance coverage for families—and to subsidize coverage for those who do not have it. The good news is that technology allows us to see how we shop for food, so we may shop more intelligently, so we may have real-time intelligence to save money, so we may use our time more wisely. According to Vladislav Svetashkov, founder and CEO of Fridge Eye: “Smart appliances use intelligence to help people make more intelligent decisions about how to shop—and save money—when buying food. In turn, people change their lives for the better without having to change their routines. Insurers have reason to support or subsidize the use of these devices, because healthier policyholders are less expensive to insure. The savings are substantial, benefiting individuals, families, doctors, hospitals and insurers, among others.” Insurers should seize the chance to popularize smart appliances. See also: 10 Insurtechs for Dramatic Cost Savings   In so doing, insurers can lead the nation and the world in addressing the oldest challenges with the newest tools. These tools are portable, reliable and affordable. These tools are instruments of instruction, too, offering people an eye toward health and nutrition; giving people the insight to buy what they need; freeing people to shop more efficiently and economically. These tools are available for insurers to promote, not for reasons of profit alone, but for the opportunity to speak like prophets: to speak with one voice about a matter that concerns all people, hunger and nutrition. Technology allows insurers to amplify that voice, to inform the public about what every person should know and see for himself—that we must not waste food or money.