Looking through the lens of sustainability opens up a new world of opportunities for group benefits providers to achieve their business goals. Creating a paperless, self-serve environment online not only helps to reduce waste but also significantly enhances the plan member experience, reduces administrative work and improves overall operating efficiency for insurers and their customers.
A greener world
Canadians support sustainability initiatives. According to a December 2008 Statistics Canada report, most Canadians are either moderately or very active when it comes to environmental behaviours: 97% of Canadian households with access to recycling made use of this service, and 45% were very active across a range of behaviours.
Of sustainability’s three Rs (reduce, reuse and recycle), reducing paper processes not only provides the most positive environmental impact but can also cut a company’s expenses and improve its balance sheet. In today’s world, when companies are looking everywhere for savings and efficiencies, this opportunity should not be overlooked.
More benefits, less paper
Achieving true sustainability takes a commitment to continual investment in technology infrastructure. The most fundamental example is the integration of the plan member website with the provider’s back-end claims payment system.
With real integration of these applications, plan members can access information and perform transactions that were previously available only to call centre representatives and claims adjudicators. Members can submit their claims online for medical and dental services, have them processed instantly and receive payment in their bank accounts—sometimes even the same day. They can get up-to-date medical and dental coverage information, down to each drug identification number and dental procedure code. Members can also update their personal information online (for example, changes to dependant or coordination-of-benefits information) and have it reflected immediately in the claims system.
Self-serve websites not only make life easier for benefits plan members, but they also significantly reduce members’ reliance on the benefits administrator, as well as the risk of errors associated with manual transactions. Demand for these kinds of online capabilities is clearly on the rise—not only due to convenience but also because of an increasing consciousness that as plan members, employers and service providers, we have a responsibility to reduce waste and protect our environment.
Responding to the need
Environmental concerns are increasingly on the agenda for plan sponsors, members and providers. Of equal importance is the need to make benefits programs convenient and efficient for all involved.
Online claiming reduces paper and the need to transport that paper for processing, as well as time and effort. Investment in online member self-service should be a top priority for insurers, with the overall goal of a totally green relationship: all of the benefits with none of the paperwork.
In January 2010, Sun Life will be partnering in a pilot with a national client to test online submission of all member-submitted medical and dental claims, with the objective of making this capability available to all clients later in 2010. And in an online contest conducted by Sun Life earlier this year, almost 1,000 plan members responded with a clear message: they value the benefits of a paperless experience.
They value being able to submit claims online for instant adjudication, view their benefits and claims information when they need it, and access their benefits and retirement savings plans online in the same location with one ID and password. And they want—and expect—more. Given the prevalence of smart phones, the next evolution of the paperless plan member experience will extend to mobile technology.
The industry has a tremendous opportunity to use technology to help make group benefits easier for customers and improve our environment for all Canadians. We need development and innovation in this area. One could even say we have an obligation to deliver.
Stuart Monteith is senior vice-president, group benefits, with Sun Life Financial.
stuart.monteith@sunlife.com
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© Copyright 2009 Rogers Publishing Ltd. This article first appeared in the November 2009 edition of BENEFITS CANADA magazine.