Insurance Companies Look to Online Retailers as Role Models
A Healthy Approach
Regardless of what happens with the healthcare reform bill (the Supreme Court was deliberating its constitutionality at press time), health insurers also are focused on providing a world-class customer experience, with the expectation of increasing sales, and they are trying a number of retail-like ways to connect with customers. BlueCross BlueShield of Illinois (6.5 million members), for example, last year began a partnership with Zagat through which members can review their doctors.
Michael Burke, senior manager, national network management, for the Chicago-based carrier, says consumers are used to looking for product information online, including information about medical procedures. "You need to create a retail shopping experience, not necessarily for [insurance] products, but for services: Who's good at knee replacements or MRIs?" he comments. "You can search online for any product — for cost, quality, user reviews. When we have more of a shopping experience for insurance products, we might see it there, but right now it's more about the care products."
Louisville, Ky.-based Humana (approximately $37 billion in revenue) has incorporated a rewards program, HumanaVitality, into its wellness initiatives. The program, which is similar to a credit card or supermarket loyalty program, awards points based on how policyholders meet wellness milestones. Those points can be redeemed online for merchandise.
"People think of health with negative connotations — things like hospitals and operations," says Shankar Ram, Humana VP of innovation. "This is around the more positive aspects of health: Instead of just having an interaction with Humana just when they're paying a bill or visiting a doctor, you have this continuous interaction" via a reward mechanism, he explains.
People can gain points by meeting certain education, fitness and prevention milestones, Ram continues. Humana issues customers pedometers that allow them to gain points daily, and the company entered a partnership with videogame maker Ubisoft on a fitness game that also allows point accumulation.
"The future is in non-intuitive partnerships between healthcare companies and consumer-focused companies," Shankar says. "What's really unique about this partnership is that we haven't just sponsored in-game content; it's the data exchange point that's allowing us to get the data from gameplay to reward our Vitality members."
Social Awareness
Retailers are known for disruptive marketing tactics. Chicago-based Health Care Service Corp. took this to a new level by displaying a Twitter hashtag in the lights of its building and measuring the response. "We use Radian6 [Fredericton, New Brunswick] for a lot of the social monitoring that we do," says Lynde O'Brien, Health Care Service's social media director. "It's amazing the power of this tool for monitoring for customer service and the effectiveness of initiatives like this."
Nathan Golia is senior editor of Insurance & Technology. He joined the publication in 2010 as associate editor and covers all aspects of the nexus between insurance and information technology, including mobility, distribution, core systems, customer interaction, and risk ... View Full Bio
Tweet This