Discovery Holdings Signs Deal with US Insurance Group

February 23 - South African insurance giant, Discovery Holdings, has signed a partnership with the US health insurance company, Humana, estimated to be worth around $65 million.

The Johannesburg listed Discovery will be given access to nearly four million of Humana's customers in the United States in the first stages of the agreement.

Part of the deal will see Humana acquire one quarter of Discovery's US subsidiary Vitality Group, at a cost of $15 million.

Humana will also pledge $50 million through a joint venture of which it will own three quarters.

The agreement will see Vitality provide separate services to its corporate clients, all the while developing new loyalty programs.

Clients will be offered perks and incentives for keeping up with a healthy lifestyle, including discounts at hotels and for electronic goods if they attend health education courses or work out in a gym.

This kind of policy is similar to one used by Discovery Holdings with its South African clients, and one that works extremely well.

This type of incentives approach was first introduced to South Africans in the 1990's and expanded to China, the US and the UK as Discovery's customer base grew.

Today it boasts 1.7 million clients around the world.

Access to four million customers is only the tip of the iceberg. The agreement is set to expand so that Discovery will have access to over 17 million customers that form part of Humana's dental plans, specialist optical plans and others.