Save on life insurance with a smartphone fitness test

Let’s be honest — life insurance can sometimes feel a little daunting, with forms, medical exams and the wait to hear what your final premium will be.

Still, it’s a valuable step that gives you peace of mind knowing you and your loved ones are protected.

But what if life insurance could fit seamlessly into your lifestyle — even rewarding you with discounts when you take simple steps to look after your health and fitness?

‘That’s exactly what we’re doing at Momentum Life Insurance,’ says Stephen van Niekerkopen_in_new, Executive Head of Momentum Life Insurance. ‘And we’re proud to say we’re leading the way globally with a world-first innovation.’

Momentum has created a digital health and fitness assessment that’s integrated into their LifeReturns® screening. The idea is simple but powerful. Instead of relying only on traditional health questions — like weight, age, or smoking habits — the assessment evaluates something far more dynamic: your fitness.

And here’s the best part: you can complete the assessment right on your smartphone. No gym. No smartwatch. No expensive equipment. Just you, your smartphone, and a few minutes of movement.

Here’s what that means for you

Momentum Life Insurance’s innovative digital health and fitness assessment helps paint a clearer, fairer picture of your health. That means they can offer you:

• More accurate premiums, so you’re not paying the same as someone with a different health profile.
• Personal discounts based on your real fitness levels, not just a generic checklist.
• A chance to take control. If you improve your health, you may improve your premium.

Real results, real people

Stephen says that, in their most recent round of digital health and fitness screenings, over 85% of participants showed average or above-average fitness levels — with a VO₂ max score well above the population average. ‘That’s really encouraging! And it shows that many people are already on the right track without even knowing it.’

We’ve been working with fitness data for over 20 years through our wellness and rewards programmes—initially tracking steps, participation in events, and later VO₂ max,’ says van Niekerk. But this new digital step is a game-changer. It makes the assessment process easier, more accessible, and more empowering for everyone — allowing them to engage directly from their smartphones, without the need for wearables or gym visits.

Stephen van Niekerk is an accomplished insurance executive with more than two decades of experience in life insurance and product development. Since September 2018, he has served as Head of Retail Life Insurance at Momentum Life, part of Momentum Group Limited.

He previously spent over a decade at Momentum, leading Myriad Insurance and contributing to risk product development, before becoming Head of Retail Life Insurance Products at Momentum Group in 2014.

Stephen is a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries and holds a B.Comm (Hons) in Mathematics and Actuarial Science from Stellenbosch University (1995–1999).