Health insurers do the same trick every year. In the summer they plan their marketing budget; in the third quarter they make preparations; they spend most of their marketing budget in the last two months of the year. Inset: the hunt slightly more than 1 million 'floating insured persons'. The health insurers' goals are clear: first of all to gain market share through growth in the number of policyholders; in second and third place the retention of existing customers and the sale of additional packages. Of course they also want to offer quality and that is only possible if they have good systems and experienced employees. And finally: every insurer must be able to move with the demand of the market and the business. So they want to remain flexible.

Peak or not, health insurers will of course not sit still for the rest of the year. They are fully digitizing, asking their policyholders what could be improved, they analyze data, work with customer panels and customer satisfaction surveys. A single insurer conducts an exit survey among departing customers. But still… every year they aim for the same peak.
That we have come to regard that peak as normal (there are even opinions written down) is actually very strange. Because with that we pretend there is only one moment of truth: namely the moment when the insured chooses to stay or leave. The concept of 'customer journey' of an insured person therefore seems to be limited to the purchase of a policy. We all know this is an important moment, but it is certainly not the only important moment. A brand is much more than a good offer for an attractively priced policy. For example, the customer journey of policyholders also affects the medical chain.

McKinsey therefore argues that any insurer that wants to build a relationship with consumers will have to accept that customer expectations are increasingly determined by their expectations in other sectors. With the Consumer Health Insights (CHI) survey, McKinsey showed that consumers have completely similar expectations of health insurers as they do of other companies. American consumers put Apple and Amazon at the top of the list, with the most important characteristics: strong customer focus, meeting expectations, making life easier, adding a lot of value. The healthcare sector will have to be able to compete with any other sector – there is no exception.

Most health insurers have invested in efficiency and are working on more agile technology. Many interactions and transactions already take place digitally, which fits in well with consumers' desire to handle many things via mobile, tablet and laptop. All this innovation is important, but it also has a downside: it makes it even more difficult for insurers to build a relationship with their customer, especially when that customer makes little or no use of his policy.
Engagement is number 1 and with all that (understandable) attention to 'peak performance', health insurers are overlooking something important. They forget that they have the rest of the year (and could take the opportunity) to build a relationship with their insured. And building a good relationship, as far as I'm concerned, is more than trying to cram all the attention for the customer into one or two months, namely during the purchasing process.

What applies to every successful company is: the basis must be in order - so it must be transfer circus including the peak reception. If all is well arranged (there is still much to gain), great opportunities lie ahead. After a few months, ask policyholders how their switch went. Did they make the right choice? Can you do something extra for them? Have their circumstances changed or will they change? And how about helping the customer with the choice overload at the end of the year? Personal attention is different from sending a mailing or customer magazine. I don't know about you last year, but I haven't heard from my insurer since my new policy was arranged. How am I supposed to build a relationship or a good feeling with an insurer, where no one has ever asked me the question: “You have been our customer for six months now. How do you like it?"

Marcel Decker – Business Development Director Wft, Teleperformance Benelux

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