Insurer BF&M launched its new wellness programme last week, entitled ?Wellness Matters?.

President and CEO John Wight said the idea for the programme came from the already existing preventative newsletter, ?BF&M Health Matters?, which has been published for five years.

Much of the same material available in the newsletter is now also available through an interactive website which was set up over the past nine months after BF&M partnered with an overseas group experienced in online health resources.

The wellness programme is Internet-based and policy holders can log on to www.bfm.bm to register.

They will fill out a questionnaire with an assortment of questions relating to nutrition and physical activity for their Health Risk Assessment.

They will then obtain results, which indicate their areas of risk based on their profiles.

Policy holders will gain access to a library of over 3,000 health topics and explanations of over 33,000 drugs as well as a local resource guide of health professionals and facilities on the Island.

?The individual can consider their own health and through our website do something about it,? Mr. Wight said.

?You get instant results. It takes 15 minutes to complete and you get an immediate response.?

He added: ?We?re anxious for our policy holders to use it.

?We are very proud of ?Wellness Matters?. I sincerely hope that it empowers our policy holders to choose a proactive approach to healthy living.?

Mr. Wight said the new service responds well to client needs.

?I am confident that ?Wellness Matters? will be of great interest to our policyholders, their spouses and dependants as it builds on our efforts to encourage individuals to develop a healthier lifestyle.?