Canadian HR Reporter

CANADIAN HR REPORTER JUNE 2019 FEATURES 23 IN FOCUS: HR TECHNOLOGY Why health insurance carriers are betting on tech to improve service Digital tools, artificial intelligence, analytics help employers and employees By Julie Bevacqua W ith the health insur- ance sector facing shifting market dy- namics, business as usual is no longer an acceptable strategy for insurance carriers in 2019. Among multiple complicating factors, government policy has the power to impact insurance providers' revenue strategies and employers' group benefits plans. On the federal front, the NDP has promised to institute a univer- sal and comprehensive national pharmacare program in 2020 if they win the election. Insurance carriers and employ- ers face additional challenges as the baby boomer generation ages and chronic disease incidence increases, often with comorbidi- ties or polymorbidities such as depression in conjunction with chronic pain, or diabetes coupled with high blood pressure and cholesterol. Not surprisingly, the cost of drug plans is escalating, especially for specialty medications. Mental health claims are also on the rise, as 60 per cent of U.S. and Canadian organizations are noticing an uptick in mental ill- ness and substance abuse issues compared to two years ago, ac- cording to a 2019 survey released by the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans. Embracing technology How are health insurance carriers responding to the evolving land- scape to meet customer expecta- tions, while minimizing health- care costs? ey are "leveraging digital tools, artificial intelligence (AI) and analytics to gradually move toward an efficient, digitally integrated ecosystem," according to a 2018 report from global digi- tal consultancy Capgemini. Although the insurance indus- try is often perceived as trending towards the highly conservative end of the business and technol- ogy innovation scale, change is in the air. e sector outspends 12 other major industries when it comes to investing in AI, accord- ing to the Global Trends Survey 2017 of 835 executives by Tata Consultancy Services. Sophisticated consumers Consumers have more complex needs than ever before and are more knowledgeable about their choices, demanding personalized insurance offerings and tailored communications. ey are at home on mobile de- vices and accustomed to moving effortlessly between devices and platforms in their daily activities. Moving forward, insurance com- panies must focus on providing a frictionless customer experience across multiple touchpoints. Insurance carriers are shift- ing from a multichannel strategy to an omnichannel strategy to help customers move swiftly and seamlessly between devices with- out disrupting their experience, according to a 2018 report from market intelligence agency Mintel Comperemedia. Forward-thinking insurance carriers are using technologies that can personalize the customer experience through tailored mes- saging, target audiences and pric- ing. Plus, more accurate risk pric- ing will become a reality, accord- ing to Mintel Comperemedia, as carriers collect and analyze vast amounts of consumer data to cre- ate hyper-personalized policies. Insurers are also providing em- ployers with reporting tools, help- ing them to analyze data to deliver more personalized employee ex- periences while better managing workplace health costs. In addition, predictive and be- haviour analytics are enabling predictive diagnosis and person- alized care across the customer- care continuum, according to analysis from Capgemini. Group benefits go digital With the workplace in flux — from the influx of millennials and retir- ing baby boomers to the height- ened talent war — companies are implementing digital tech- nologies to build their employer brand and develop an engaging culture. Similarly, HR organizations are embracing technology to create personalized employee experi- ences as they guide the employee journey. One of the challenges insurance carriers face is how to simplify the administration of group health in- surance for employers. With HR facing a dynamic work landscape of potentially rapid company growth, transforming workforces, and a constant flow of regulatory changes, group benefits manage- ment becomes a complex process — especially as benefits plans ex- pand and innovate to meet evolv- ing consumer needs. e recent introduction of digi- tal group benefits administration systems in the Canadian market is helping to simplify the process. With an automated workflow — from onboarding through to ben- efits enrolment — these digital so- lutions are designed to sync across systems, reducing data entry to a single point and ensuring employ- ee data is shared seamlessly across human resources, group benefits and payroll. This type of approach miti- gates the risk of error and enables a personalized employee benefits experience. Insurance companies also rec- ognize it's a time-consuming task for HR to chase down employees to collect their personal informa- tion for the purpose of group ben- efits administration. To help less- en the burden, forward-thinking insurance carriers are moving to- wards employee self-enrolment. With access to personal data at any time, employees can man- age their benefits plans from the convenience of their smartphones and personal devices, eliminating both the paper trail and reliance on HR. No more auditing nightmares Auditing and manual recon- ciliations can be a continuous, never-ending loop between the insurance carrier bill and payroll reconciliation. With an automated solution, the time-consuming cycle of ad- justments and reconciliations be- tween employees' benefits premi- ums and pay is eliminated. By ensuring there are no costly discrepancies between health in- surance bills and payroll, a digital solution decreases overall risk, ensuring benefits compliance and accurate reporting for life insur- ance claims, disability claims and workers' compensation. Julie Bevacqua is the chief revenue offi- cer at Rise People in Vancouver, which provides personalized, all-in-one HR software. For more information, visit www.benefitsmadeeasy.ca. Credit: Brian A Jackson (Shutterstock)

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