Delta Dental Invests in Startup to Support Healthy Lifestyles Through Partnership with LEAP's PROTO InsurTech program

LANSING, Mich., Dec. 6, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Leveling up its commitment to employee well-being, Delta Dental of Michigan is investing in LVLFi, an innovative startup designed to empower and encourage healthy lifestyles among employees.

Delta Dental of Michigan is driven to be a destination workplace for the best and the brightest with a workforce environment to match, so employee wellness is top of mind.

The startup, LVLFi, is based in England and its founder Alex DeVoto was a recent graduate of the Lansing Economic Area Partnership's (LEAP) inaugural PROTO InsurTech accelerator program. The newest vertical of LEAP-owned subsidiary PROTO Accelerator, PROTO InsurTech partnered with Delta Dental of Michigan as one of its founding corporate partners.

Delta Dental's pilot of LVLFi is slated to begin with select employees in 2020, with an organization-wide launch envisioned for 2021.

"Innovation is a priority for us now and in years to come," said Goran Jurkovic, CEO of Delta Dental of Michigan. "This pilot will allow us to assess and improve our employee needs, anticipate challenges and build an engaged workforce, ultimately giving us a step up when it comes to recruitment and retention in the workforce."

LVLFi leverages the science of gamification (the process of adding games or gamelike elements to something so as to encourage participation) and behavioral economics through mobile apps and games for the insurance industry, aiming to lower claim rates and costs for health and life insurers. For Delta Dental of Michigan, LVLFi is an avenue to further its commitment to support initiatives that build healthy, smart, vibrant communities—a commitment that begins from within.

LVLFi was selected as one of three international high-tech startups to join the first PROTO InsurTech cohort in April 2019.

"It's great to be able to partner with a such a forward-thinking and innovative insurer like Delta Dental that understands the importance of keeping their employees healthy and happy while also embracing emerging data-driven products like LVLFi," Devoto said.

In the Lansing region, the insurance industry adds more than $30 billion in annual revenue to the local economy, with employment growing at a rate 10 times the national average. PROTO InsurTech is an innovative business accelerator and equity investment fund led by LEAP, working to stimulate innovation and entrepreneurship in the insurance industry and across the state. The program's central goal is to help Michigan insurance companies innovate to increase efficiencies, decrease costs and add an overall value to the insurance service chain. Another focus of the program is to permanently attract high-tech startups like LVLFi to the region for future job creation and investment.

"These pilots are further proof that our local insurers are ready to innovate and are open to bringing new solutions to their insured populations," said Tony Willis, president of PROTO Accelerator. "What PROTO does is help our insurance companies connect to the larger global startup community and shorten their innovation timelines. Congratulations to LVLFi and Delta Dental on this collaboration."

In its first year, PROTO InsurTech, supported by Delta Dental of Michigan, Farm Bureau Insurance of Michigan and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, has been highly successful with a majority of the first cohort entering into proof of concept agreements.

Insurance carriers across the state are invited to invest in PROTO InsurTech. Applications closed this week for the next PROTO InsurTech cohort, which will begin in April 2020.

About LEAP
The Lansing Economic Area Partnership (LEAP) is a coalition of area leaders partnering to build a stronger community for all--working every day to grow, retain and attract business.

About PROTO Accelerator
PROTO Accelerator is a startup accelerator that provides physical product and insurtech startups with financing and a wide range of programming helping them bring their ideas to market. PROTO Accelerator is a subsidiary of the Lansing Economic Area Partnership (LEAP) based in Lansing, Michigan, in the historic REO Town neighborhood.

SOURCE Delta Dental of Michigan