Wearable tech promised to prevent injuries before they happened. Kinetic Insurance tried that bet, and is now walking away from it.
The New York-based workers' compensation managing general agent (MGA) said Wednesday it is retiring its Reflex wearable device, ending availability for new policyholders immediately and phasing it out for existing ones by October 1, 2027. Coverage, claims service, and dividend eligibility are unaffected by the change. The company, which is backed by Nationwide and targets frontline industries, including parcel delivery, warehousing, transportation, and hospitality, is redirecting its technology investment toward real-time claims intelligence.
The pivot matters to brokers placing workers' comp in these sectors because it reframes what Kinetic is selling. The device, which detected unsafe postures and gave workers real-time feedback on high-risk movements, had been bundled into every policy at no added cost since the MGA launched its insurance program with Nationwide in 2021. Now, the pitch centers on claims management rather than injury prevention.
CEO Adam Price acknowledged the tension. "Reflex showed us what data can do for frontline safety," Price said. "But prevention technology demands a lot from busy frontline operations." The feedback from clients, he said, shifted the company's focus: employers wanted guidance on active claims, not injury-prevention hardware.
That tension is not unique to Kinetic. A 2024 Conning study of 60 senior workers' compensation executives found that while wearable technology holds promise for reducing claim frequency, adoption has been gradual across the industry. The Conning study found that despite the technology's promise, adoption had been gradual across the industry.
Kinetic's replacement proposition is its Kinetic Dashboard, which aggregates policy data, near-real-time claims data, and return-to-work status in a single view. Behind it, an AI system trained on Kinetic's proprietary data monitors 80 data points per claim and surfaces recommended next steps for brokers and employers.
Kinetic says employers who actively engage with the program see 34% lower loss ratios compared with those who do not, a figure drawn from Kinetic's own internal data that has not been independently validated, and one that may partly reflect the risk profiles of employers who choose to engage in the first place.
Newly appointed VP of product Matt Crum is leading the platform's next development phase, with a focus on mid-market and large commercial accounts. Director of claims Bonnie McCaig leads the claims team. A separate group of policyholder success managers works with employers throughout the policy term, and loss control teams build custom safety plans for each account, keeping injury prevention in the program without the hardware.
Brokers with existing Reflex policyholders have already been notified of the transition. Those policyholders will continue receiving device support through the October 2027 deadline. Organizations that use Reflex outside a workers' compensation policy are not affected.
