QBE Australia has partnered with dorsaVi to leverage the latter’s wearable sensor technology in helping the insurer’s broker network and their mutual customers manage workers’ risks.

“Wearable technology allows for the monitoring of activity in the real world – where it really matters,” said QBE Australia’s people risk general manager Rob Kosova. “Sensors can track, analyse, and report on movement throughout the day in real time.

“This technology will allow customers to better predict, manage, and reduce the likelihood and consequence of musculoskeletal injuries in the workplace.”

Kosova said they are excited to be working with dorsaVi, which he described as having delivered “demonstrated and repeatable” results in harm prevention and productivity optimisation, where manual handling is involved, for more than a decade now.

In partnership with insurance brokers, dorsaVi’s on-body sensors will be used by QBE customers to monitor and measure movement and muscle activity, quantify movement risk, and guide decision-making on appropriate risk-mitigating strategies.

“The physical, emotional, and financial costs of injury can be significant,” added Kosova. “Safe Work Australia puts the total cost of workplace injury and disease at around 4% of GDP (gross domestic product), and over one-third of these are due to body stressing or manual handling.

“Partnering with dorsaVi is one way we can assist more customers to prevent these injuries from happening.”

According to the QBE executive, the wearable tech agreement is one of several collaborations the insurer has established and will continue to bring to market.