Health insurance companies have an incentive to keep you as healthy as possible. The less often you go to the doctor, the cheaper it is for them. That's why many of these companies offer deals on Fitbits and other fitness devices.
You may be able to get even more than a fitness tracker. Some insurance companies will reimburse or offer a discount on your gym membership. Let's take a look at what some of the most popular U.S. insurance companies can do for you.
Aetna
Aetna has the "Attain" app for Android and iPhone that allows you to earn rewards by tracking your fitness. The rewards include small things such as gift cards, but you can also work towards an Apple Watch.
Reward points are earned by completing daily and weekly workout goals. Attain creates the goals based on your weight, sex, and other healthy metrics. There's one pretty big catch for the Apple Watch, though.
You actually get the Apple Watch first. After that, it's up to you to continue to complete the goals every month for two years. If you don't, you have to send in monthly payments to buy the watch the old-fashioned way.
Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield
Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield offers the "Blue365" program for discounts on a number of different fitness and health-related products. It's not just fitness trackers.
Blue365 has discounts on everything from running shoes to home gym equipment, gym memberships, food brands, and, of course, Fitbit, Garmin, and other fitness trackers.
The program is free to join if it's included in your Blue Cross Blue Shield organization. There's no fitness tracking or reward points to worry about. You can check your eligibility at the Blue365 website.
Cigna
Cigna offers the "Healthy Rewards" program with discounts on both health-related products and services. For starters, you get 25% off the Active & Fit program. The offer includes a promo code to get a Fitbit or Garmin device for free.
In addition, Cigna allows you to log your fitness goals to earn reward points that can be redeemed for cash. If you're looking for a way to pay off an Apple Watch or Fitbit, this is a nice way to do it. Cigna's offerings aren't as robust as others, unfortunately.
Humana
Human's "Go365" program is similar to Aetna's. You can link your fitness app of choice to Go365 and earn rewards by completely recommended activities. The reward points can be redeemed for gift cards, fitness trackers, and other accessories. Go365 doesn't include any gym membership benefits.
UnitedHealthcare
UnitedHealthcare health and fitness rewards are through the "Motion" app for Android and iPhones. The app has daily goals for things like how often you move, doing high-intensity workouts, and steps.
Completing these goals translates to free Fitbit devices or an Apple Watch. You can even earn straight cash for completing 50 gym workouts in a six-month period.
If you're willing to hand over some of your personal health and fitness data to insurance companies, you can get some pretty nice benefits. As often is the case in the tech world, if something is free it usually means you are the product. This information is valuable to insurance companies. Make sure you're comfortable with that before enrolling.