During her time in college at Northeastern University in Boston, Lindsay Hanson started working at John Hancock through a cooperative education program — and never left.
Hanson first worked in wealth management before moving into a business relationship role where she got interested in technology. Later, she worked on standing up a call center where she helped facilitate changes so customers could purchase life insurance through a phone call, a mobile app, or the website.
Nearly six years ago, she started running the John Hancock Vitality program, which is tech-enabled and offers life insurance customers education, support and rewards designed to help customers live longer. Now, more than 15 years after starting that co-op, she's the head of behavioral insurance, global strategy and delivery for the life insurer.
“It is amazing to me what we have been able to do in the life insurance industry,” Hanson says. “When I think about how traditional life insurance was purchased, it’s not been fast or easy. And not usually something people look forward to buying, because it reminds them of their own mortality. But it is remarkable to see something (like Vitality) on the market that can help improve wellbeing while you’re alive, paired with the protection and peace of mind that life insurance provides.”
Vitality, which is an interactive life insurance program, includes many more touchpoints with customers. Typically, a life insurance company reaches out to someone once or twice a year but with Vitality, the program is interacting with customers 40 times a month on average, Hanson said.
“It’s a combo of traditional life insurance, married with tech like devices, apps and platforms, all backed by science. It allows customers to have different opportunities to have education, support, incentives and rewards to make life insurance about living,” she says. “I’m so proud. When I came out of college, I never thought I would end up bringing innovation to life insurance.”
For Hanson, being a leader means seeing the forest through the trees.
“A leader is someone who is not only able to set a vision and strategy and carry it forward but bring their team and colleagues along with them,” she says.
Her goal is to keep Vitality and consumers connected to current science, innovations and behaviors happening outside of insurance like around wellness, Hanson says. Over the past year, she’s taken that scope global and is working to operationalize the concept and make it relevant to local markets. She has created a leadership council that includes people from around the globe who are working on behavioral insurance programs.
Hanson has also established partnerships with several companies including Apple, Verily, FitBit and Amazon, which has integrated Vitality into the Amazon Halo devices. She conscious about making sure customers have a choice in the devices they use and working with a big organization that wants to help customers is exciting.
“That is never a call you think you will get,” Hanson says. “To have these conversations with organizations that want to work with you because of what you are doing, it's not necessarily about partnering to sell, it’s about working with companies that have values that are aligned and want to help consumers live their best lives.”
The COVID-19 pandemic has reinforced to Hanson that her work is on the right path, and she’s focused on moving forward in a global way.
“Life insurance was always important but now it is even more important,” she says. “The pandemic has shown consumers that this is something they need. I hope what we offer will reach consumers in a broad way. We’re bringing life to life insurance. When I think about what’s next, I’m invigorated. There are so many things we can do to help consumers.”
