Metabolic health is a major, underestimated risk, with significant impact on morbidity, mortality and claims experience. Insulin resistance sits at the root of many chronic conditions and provides a unifying lens for risk assessment. Traditional risk metrics including BMI, blood pressure, triglycerides and blood glucose remain valuable markers of metabolic risk, while earlier predictive indicators of insulin resistance such as fasting insulin offer future potential. Crucially, metabolic risk is modifiable through lifestyle and especially nutrition, creating a clear opportunity for targeted intervention and risk reduction. 

A substantial proportion of long-term disability claims are linked to chronic conditions rooted in metabolic dysfunction. The UK pilots demonstrate that targeted metabolic interventions introduced at the claims stage can improve health outcomes, accelerate return to work and reduce claims costs, delivering value for claimants, insurers and healthcare systems alike. Success depends on partnering with clinically evidence-based providers and embedding metabolic awareness into claims assessment and management. Swiss Re can support claims teams with a proactive, evidence-based approach that integrates metabolic health into holistic rehabilitation strategies and enables empathetic engagement with claimants on lifestyle-related conditions. 

There are opportunities to develop new products and enhance existing propositions that incentivise metabolic health improvement, expand access to coverage and reduce future claims through prevention. Effective strategies move beyond generic wellness messaging ("eat healthily") toward an evidence-based, lower-carbohydrate nutritional approach focused on improving insulin resistance.

There’s an opportunity for risk stratification models to use the different metabolic health risk factors in a more sophisticated way, as well as allow for their historic and potential future trajectory. The UK pilot shows metabolic health interventions can impact recovery rates for disability claimants; this may lead to considering the impact of such interventions in assumption setting.

Metabolic health is not only a clinical challenge – it's an opportunity to improve outcomes for the insurance industry. With a second UK disability pilot underway and growing international interest, this model is positioned to move from pilot to practice. By proactively addressing metabolic health, insurers can improve customer outcomes, reduce claim durations, and strengthen portfolio performance.

At Swiss Re, we combine research insight, real-world data, and actuarial expertise to help clients turn metabolic health from emerging evidence into sustainable impact.  

UK pilot participants have reported improvements not only to clinical health markers, but also across many aspects of wellbeing including sleep, energy, concentration, confidence and mindset.