Employee benefits insurtech boom! But can I just talk to someone please?
Silicon valley and private equity dollars have been flowing into the insurance technology space to look for that next unicorn. It’s astounding to see the number of benefits administration and exchange platforms that have surfaced in the past five years.
The era of smartphones has sparked the creation of more efficient models for employee benefit enrollment and administration. Today, it’s easy to assume and invest in technology capable of building insurance and employee benefit online platforms—all in the hopes of creating a fully automated level of e-consumerism. Think about it, how many times have you seen or heard a company state their goal is to be “the Amazon of insurance and benefits”?
The adoption of benefit technology platforms by carriers, benefit providers, and employers is undoubtedly continuing to grow. But it begs the question: what do employees want? In an interesting and recently published article by Employee Benefits Advisor, it seems that striking a balance between technology and human touch are key.
Bucking the technology trend with human touch
For instance, would you expect today's Millennial workforce to prefer to speak to someone about their benefit options over the phone? More than 70% indicated such a preference.
Let's face it, insurance and employee benefits are complicated—especially when it comes to benefits that deal with the financial issues people face. Technology alone cannot solve for the human interaction and personal confidence that comes from speaking to an educated benefits counselor who can discuss options and help employees gain a better understanding of the benefits available to them.
It’s clear to me that online benefit platforms are a great resource for product education, decision support tools, and efficient enrollment. However, the majority of employees are telling us that they also want to talk to a real person to help them understand their options and make the best benefit decision. In today’s complicated employee benefits landscape, the human touch offered by telephonic benefit counselors and financial concierge services is critical to help employees make informed, confident decisions.
Ben Rozum
Founder | Start-up Entrepreneur | Company Culture Creator | Executive Leader
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