Pruhealth Becomes Nectar's Exclusive Healthcare Partner

LONDON, ENGLAND, June 25, 2011 (Press-News.org) PruHealth customers can now collect up to 200 Nectar points and 10 Vitality points each week when buying GBP20 worth of healthy foods* during the weekly shop at Sainsbury's, under PruHealth's new and exclusive partnership with Nectar, the largest loyalty programme in the UK.

Enhancing PruHealth's existing partnership with Sainsbury's**, the innovative insurer that rewards healthy behaviour has become Nectar's exclusive healthcare partner within the programme.

Policyholders with Nectar membership can now receive 10 Nectar points per GBP1 spent in Sainsbury's on over 1,500 healthy foods***. Customers will also be rewarded 1 Vitality point for every GBP2 spent on healthy foods, which contributes towards discounts with PruHealth's reward partners and cashback on the individual's policy.

Furthermore, Nectar customers wishing to join PruHealth will receive 5,000 Nectar points for taking out a new private medical insurance policy, meaning they could potentially collect up to 15,400 Nectar points in the first year, as well as 520 Vitality points.

Recent findings from PruHealth indicate a third of British adults (33%)**** want to improve their diets and eat more healthily in 2011, and PruHealth and Nectar are committed to helping their members live a healthy lifestyle.

Dr Katie Tryon at PruHealth commented: "We all know what we should be doing to look after ourselves, but we need encouragement to implement these changes into our lifestyle on an ongoing basis. Incentivising healthy behaviour is our core philosophy and we believe our healthy foods initiative can help drive behavioural change amongst our members. We are extremely excited about the possibilities presented by our new partnership with Nectar and our enhanced relationship with Sainsbury's and look forward to developing further initiatives in the future."

The innovative insurer hopes the rewards offer an attractive incentive for members to eat healthily, while also providing an attractive proposition for new customers as well. One in ten (12%) British adults said receiving discounts for leading a healthy lifestyle would be an incentive to take out private medical insurance.

James Frost, marketing director at Nectar, said: "We are really pleased to be part of this innovative partnership. Not only can our collectors now earn points on health insurance through PruHealth but by purchasing the right products at Sainsbury's they can earn points five times faster than usual. We also believe there's a lot more potential to use the Nectar currency to reward other positive lifestyle or behavioural choices in the future."

Notes to editors:
*PruHealth and Nectar members will receive 10 Nectar points for every GBP1 spent in Sainsbury's on Healthy Foods to a maximum of GBP20 healthy food spend per week.

** The deal is an extension of PruHealth's existing partnership with Sainsbury's - since 2007 customers have earned PruHealth Vitality points for purchasing fruit and vegetables at Sainsbury's, which have contributed towards discounts with its wider health and leisure partners.

***The PruHealth Healthy Foods list is based on Food Standards Agency Nutrient Profiling and International Dietary Guidelines. It includes fruit and vegetables and items such as whole wheat pitta bread, porridge, whole wheat noodles, plain skinless chicken and turkey, fish such as mackerel, and plain skimmed yoghurt, for example.

**** Opinium Research carried out an online poll of 2,019 British adults from 11th - 15th February 2011. Results have been weighted to nationally representative criteria. 39 years is an average age calculated from those that provided an answer to the question "At approximately what age did the state of your health and body really start to be a worry to you?" (n=1,175).

About PruHealth:
PruHealth was launched into the UK market in October 2004 as a joint venture between Discovery and UK insurer, Prudential, in response to a growing need for consumer-directed private medical insurance products.

Website: http://www.pru.co.uk