THE DIGITAL HEALTH COMPETITIVE EDGE REPORT: How the big four US insurers rank on digital feature awareness - and what it means for customer satisfaction

Nicky Lineaweaver

Dec 31, 2019, 21:37 IST

This is a preview of THE DIGITAL HEALTH COMPETITIVE EDGE REPORT from Business Insider Intelligence.
This report is exclusively available to enterprise subscribers. To learn more about getting access to this report, click here.

As digital permeates every corner of the US healthcare sector, the big four US insurers - Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna, and UnitedHealthcare - have padded their health plans with digital tools that customers can use to seek medical advice, navigate costs, or contact customer service.

And several of these features are considered must-haves for respondents to our proprietary survey who are US Tech Early Adopters, or those who identified as either a first adopter or early adopter of new technologies.

But a notable share of US Tech Early Adopters who hold plans with the big four US insurance companies aren't aware that their health plans offer various digital features, creating a window of opportunity for US health insurers to shore up their digital strategies to create a superior customer experience and solidify their market footing in the face of tech-focused entrants.

And because we expect that digital will become synonymous with the US health insurance experience over the next decade, insurers that develop a robust digital strategy now will be in a good position to become market leaders.

In The Digital Health Competitive Edge Report, Business Insider Intelligence uses primary research to rank the big four US health insurers - Aetna, BCBS companies, Cigna, and UnitedHealthcare - on awareness of their digital features among customers who are US Tech Early Adopters.

By measuring member awareness of digital insurance features, we can help pinpoint areas where the big four US payers can improve their digital strategies. This report can also serve employers in selecting a health plan to contract with, as it will detail consumer awareness of features they may deem important to offer their workers.

The companies mentioned in this report are: Aetna, Anthem, Apple, Berkshire Hathaway, Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee, BlueCross BlueShield of Western New York, Bright Health, Cigna, Clover Health, Devoted Health, Doctor On Demand, Fitbit, Garmin, Humana, JPMorgan Chase, MDLive, Oscar Health, Samsung, UnitedHealthcare, UnitedHealth Group. Here are some of the key takeaways from the report:

Digital is a nascent but growing part of the US health insurance customer experience.
US Tech Early Adopters already rate some digital insurance features as must-haves, suggesting digital will become a more important determinant of customer satisfaction.
A significant proportion of US Tech Early Adopters aren't aware that their health insurance plan includes high-value digital features.
There's an opportunity for the big four US insurers - Aetna, BCBS, Cigna, or UnitedHealthcare - to emerge as digital leaders and improve customer satisfaction.
Growing pressure from external threats should amplify the sense of urgency for payers to move on strengthening their digital services.

In full, the report:

Uses primary research to rank the big four US health insurers on awareness of their digital features among customers who are US Tech Early Adopters.
Identifies which digital insurance features respondents value most.
Helps pinpoint areas where incumbent US insurers can improve their digital strategies.
Evaluates which digital health insurance features are likely to be most in-demand over the next 10 years.