The company that sells Marlboro and Chesterfield, will launch its new line of business in the insurance market, covering life.
Philip Morris International (PMI) will be releasing this new life insurance in the UK but there are plans to extend this product overseas.
In an article published by CNBC, the company confirmed the release of this new product and claimed that smokers who quit or go for Philip Morris’ vape products will receive significant discounts.
Reviti Insurance will cover policies that can improve a person’s lifestyle and health. There’s a plan to help an individual improve their food choices or diet, cutting down on alcohol and getting fit. According to the press release, the insurance will start at $6.47 per month or £5.
PMI CEO Andre Calantzopoulos said, “Obviously, that [selling insurance] makes sense for public health and the people who smoke themselves, but it also makes sense for our shareholders because financially, as these products are not cigarettes, they benefit from lower exercise taxes and better margins, so it’s a win-win for everybody.”
Anti-Smoking Efforts
PMI has been doing quite a lot when it comes to encouraging people to stop smoking. In the past years, the company has included in the Marlboro packaging some images that might discourage smokers to puff tobacco. In addition to this, PMI also launched a campaign called ‘Year of Unsmoke’ which gets people to quit smoking.
According to Calantzopoulos, the efforts paid off, because, in the first quarter of 2019, the company recorded an increase in the IQOS users or the heated tobacco devices. More and more smokers are switching in this technology as cigarettes are posing hazards to the human body.
Meanwhile, the tobacco-heating device still hasn’t received approval from the US government. The lack of evidence proving that this is safer compared to cigarettes is the major reason.
