The healthcare market is fast undergoing a transformation, driven by the growing use of mobile and interactive apps and solutions. But are traditional competitors leveraging the full potential of consumer insights and technologies? The momentum in the industry is attracting big players (Google, Amazon,..) set on reaping the rewards of disrupting established business models.
Healthcare insurers can rely on industry expertise that prospective entrants lack. However, whilst some say there is no substitute for experience, the financial clout, technological foundations and customer-centric mindsets of such new entrants would represent fearsome assets: that’s why traditional players must rethink their services to offer the customer experience their clients need, whether they already realise that or not.
To do so, insurers must maximise the value of partnerships within their ecosystem. This is key to enabling connectivity across channels (mobile, Web, social media…) and portals, so that the Big Data available may be turned into actionable insights.
Digital health platforms help insurers seamlessly connect data. Whether it’s delivered by their own technologies or those of partners, insurers can leverage customer data to accelerate go-to-market strategies and keep ahead of new entrants.
- Customer-centric market strategies
By leveraging big data to listen to and interact with their customers, insurers will strengthen those relationships. In this digital revolution, business model disruptors stand out by better understanding customers. They base their products and services on consumer data, engaging customers throughout the lifecycle.
Digital health platforms capture data at each touchpoint of the customer healthcare lifecycle. By turning that data into information and information into action, insurers can offer customized plans based on customers’ preferences, location and use of services.
Moreover, working with ecosystem partners helps insurers move even closer to a truly customer-centric approach, whereby they can offer holistic health management services such as online chats, symptom checkers, consultations and prescriptions.
- More preventive initiatives
Access to data also enables insurers take a proactive role and develop more preventive initiatives based on the identified needs and consumer behaviour.
Digital health platforms allow different systems to connect and seamlessly integrate with third party providers. This way, insurers won’t miss key insights provided by other systems, and will transform this into additional preventive initiatives.
The use of connected devices and mobile applications is a growing trend. Insurers can help customers become healthy and stay healthy with preventive programs for auto-evaluation, e-assessments, wellness and coaching.
To meet this need and truly enable value, digital health platforms must be open by design and provide Web APIs, DMS integration and multi-back office integrations, facilitating connectivity and interoperability with other systems.
- A scalable business deployment
The information gathered by insurers is key to building new strategies that are relevant, innovative and scalable. New value propositions can lead to the creation of new markets by matching supply and demand in pioneering ways and striking the right balance between listening to customers and guiding them in directions they might not have considered.
● How do you connect with your customers?● How do you offer a compelling value proposition?
● How do you prove your competitive advantage against other insurance providers?
These are key aspects to understanding the current market landscape and needs, but also to identifying innovative service offerings. Leading companies are using data and analytics not only to improve core operations, but also to launch entirely new business models.
For instance, insurers may be able to deploy services specific to a region or line of business thanks to geolocalization. They can also look at facilitating operations with the adoption of electronic signature and online payments, reducing friction via the integration of such services.
With a digital health platform, insurers don’t need to worry about keeping up with technology or how to access customer data, and can focus solely on creating value from it. By optimising the customer experience and regularly reviewing their strategies to deliver it, they can ride the wave of digital disruption from the front, relying on customised data analytics and automation tools to maintain competitive advantage.
Key takeaways
1. Insurers need to embrace innovation in the midst of digital disruption.2. Cash-rich players from other markets are keen on entering and disrupting established business models.
3. By leveraging big data, healthcare insurers can anticipate their customers’ needs, develop innovative and preventive strategies and create new growth opportunities.
4. A digital health platform breaks down the silos in which many insurers have traditionally operated, collating data from multiple channels and connected devices, simplifying expensive infrastructures and enabling a customer-centric approach.
If you are interested in this topic, the Cegedim Insurance Solutions team is at your disposal to answer to all your questions.
