Member satisfaction: How do health insurers stack up?
UnitedHealth, Humana and Kaiser Foundation Health Plan receive the highest marks in new research from Verint.
The top 25 health insurance companies are competing fiercely for high member satisfaction scores, with UnitedHealth, Humana and Kaiser Foundation Health Plan earning top honors in the new Health Insurance Edition of the Verint Experience Index (VXI). The difference between customer satisfaction scores from highest to lowest was just under nine points out of a possible 100 — suggesting that all insurers included in the survey are performing at elevated levels.
Verint, known as The Customer Engagement Company™, surveyed more than 6,000 health insurance members in June and July 2021 about their health insurance plans in an effort to determine which companies are providing the best experience — and thereby boosting trust, recommendations and renewals. The report shows what drives member satisfaction, with perceived value having the most important impact on satisfaction for the vast majority of the top 25 U.S. companies evaluated. Other impacts to member satisfaction varied across the board, including enrollment, services, provider availability, digital experience, and claims.
Related: COVID pandemic puts spotlight on consumers’ health plan dissatisfaction
“The global pandemic has created new challenges for health insurance companies, from the contact center’s need to tackle new processes and procedures like COVID-19 prevention, testing, and treatment information to financial pressures. And health insurers had to adapt and act quickly in a constantly changing world,” Verint’s Kevin Daly, global vice president and general manager of Experience Management, said in a statement. “Our research shows that the top health insurance companies delivered great member experiences across channels. What’s more, the report shows what members want out of their experience and when and how they choose to engage with the company.”
Here are key highlights of the report:
- Members prefer the “fastest” and “easiest” ways to connect with their insurer, but they can’t agree on which channels best provide that connection. The division doesn’t necessarily fall along generational splits, either: 31% of Baby Boomers want to use the website, while 31% of Gen Z prefer to call.
- Insurance providers that cover telehealth have a 12% higher trust score from their members than providers who do not provide telehealth coverage.
- Across all survey respondents, benefits, copayments, and in-network providers were the most important factors when selecting a health insurance policy. Cost transparency and mental health were relatively less important to members as a whole but extremely important to Gen Z. In fact, cost transparency is 116% more important to Gen Z than to the average member, and it’s the second most important factor in their decision making. Perhaps even more noteworthy, mental health coverage is 281% more important to Gen Z than to other respondents.
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