Using Technology to Promote Healthy Habits

a.s.r. is a Dutch insurance company that is committed to promoting healthy living among its members. One of their initiatives is the a.s.r. Vitality cycling app, which tracks members’ daily bike rides and rewards them with gift vouchers or discounts on their health insurance. However, to fully realise the potential of this app, a.s.r. Faced a challenge: how to develop an app that automatically tracks all bike rides, including short ones.

Existing activity tracking apps, such as Strava, require users to start them manually, resulting in many daily rides not being counted. a.s.r. recognized that to encourage members to cycle more and benefit from the rewards, the app needed to be more user-friendly and accurately track all bike rides.

In addition to the challenge mentioned earlier, a.s.r. faced several other challenges in developing the ASR Vitality cycling app. One of the main challenges was to create an app that would accurately track all bike rides, regardless of whether or not the user remembered to start the app before their ride. This was crucial, as existing activity tracking apps, such as Strava, required users to start them manually, resulting in many daily rides not being counted. To address this challenge, a.s.r. needed to develop a solution that could automatically detect when a user was riding their bike, without requiring any manual input.

Another challenge was to ensure that the app provided a seamless and enjoyable user experience. The app needed to be user-friendly and easy to navigate, while also providing users with the information they needed to make informed decisions about their health and fitness. To achieve this, a.s.r. needed to develop a clean and intuitive user interface that could be easily customized to suit the needs of individual users.

To address this challenge, a.s.r. partnered with Mobidot, a Dutch technology company, to develop a custom app. The a.s.r. Vitality cycling app utilizes the standard location data sharing of Apple and Android devices to track how many kilometers members cover. However, the app also uses additional variables, such as the gyroscope data of the user’s phone, to determine whether they are cycling. This ensures that all bike rides, even short ones to the supermarket, are automatically recorded.

The app is fully integrated with Notificare, a platform that sends push notifications to users if the app is not synchronized. It also features a prepr integration for frequently asked questions. The app works independently, without requiring a Fitbit or other wearable devices, making it accessible to a wide audience.

The a.s.r. Vitality cycling app has been successful in encouraging members to cycle more and adopt healthier habits. The app has been well received by users who appreciate its ease of use and the automatic tracking of all bike rides, no matter how short. By promoting healthy living, a.s.r. is not only benefiting their members but also reducing healthcare costs in the long term.

If you want to download this App you can do so via the following link: Android & iOS

• The app uses automatic movement recognition  technology to accurately track and measure users’ cycling activity, including speed, distance, and duration.
• Users are rewarded for their cycling activity with Vitality Points, which can be redeemed for discounts on a range of health and wellness products and services.
• Since launching the app, ASR Vitality has seen a 25% increase in cycling activity among its members.
• In addition to promoting physical activity and healthy habits, the app also helps to reduce carbon emissions by encouraging users to choose cycling as an alternative to driving.
• The app has received positive feedback from users, with many citing the rewards system and ease of use as key benefits.
• The success of the ASR Vitality Cycling App has led to increased engagement and loyalty among ASR Vitality members, as well as recognition from industry experts, including a nomination for the Dutch Interactive Awards.
• 14,137 users in total, 1,921,283 rides completed and on average of 47 rides per person.