Willis Group Holdings employee benefits practice has teamed up with NBC television's "The Biggest Loser" weight loss contest show to promote an incentive-driven consumer health and wellness program called "Winning with Willis."
The program's aim is to help companies lower healthcare costs by encouraging employees to lead healthier lifestyles.
Willis said it is making the program available to some nine million employees at the more than 30,000 U.S. companies for which it arranges employee benefits.
To promote its new program, Willis partnered with NBC.com's Biggest Loser League, a social-networking site that allows teams and individuals to compete to see who can lose the most weight.
The site gives participants in the "Winning With Willis" program the opportunity to lose weight and get in shape with friends.
"We are excited to be partnering with NBC to promote 'The Biggest Loser League' and our new 'Winning with Willis' program," said Michael Barton, leader of the Willis Employee Benefits Practice in a statement. "We share a common goal: to help Americans lead healthier lives."
"Nearly 80 percent of medical claims today are the result of long-term lifestyle choices," he said. "That's why companies want to encourage diet and exercise among their employees as a way to better manage ever-escalating healthcare costs, workers compensation losses and absenteeism."
Willis said the heart of the program is an innovative feature called "Willis Rewards." It is an incentive program offering encouragement to exercise and lose weight, along with other healthy behaviors, such as participating in health-related education.
The Web-based rewards program gives employees savings on their favorite brands and services from more than 2,000 top retailers and manufacturers. Once enrolled, employees are able to track points earned for healthy behavior or achieving other milestones as determined by their employer, and redeem the points for discounts of 15 to 40 percent off all types of merchandise and services.
Companies pay a nominal annual fee to have each employee enrolled in the program, and employees are eligible for even deeper discounts when they upgrade on their own to a premium membership.
"Our research shows that employees want and need real incentives to be health and wellness achievers," said Mr. Barton. "Not just T-shirts and paperweights, but plenty of choice and great discounts on the brands they know and love. The Willis Rewards program goes far beyond the typical incentive plans offered to employees in the past by giving them exactly what they want in an easy, convenient and secure online shopping environment.
The program's Web site features personal fitness and diet plans from Jillian Michaels, the personal trainer who stars on NBC's "The Biggest Loser" show.
More information on the program is available at: www.winningwithwillis.com.
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