The group insurance segment is heavily dominated by employer sponsored insurance (ESI) — insurance that is paid for by a business on behalf of their employee as part of a benefit package.

In many cases, employees do not have an alternate option and are rarely involved in the buying process, as this is decided by an HR professional. There is an underlying issue in which this traditional mode disregards the consumer's buying experience and, by extension, their engagement or service satisfaction — but this is changing.

The group benefits and voluntary insurance industry has traditionally focused on serving intermediaries such as brokers and HR/benefit specialists, rather than the consumers. It is no surprise that the digital phenomenon has focused more on increased automation and cost reduction, rather than customer-centric disruption widely visible in every other industry.