Independence Holding Company Announces Expansion of Technology-Driven Direct-to-Consumer Solutions
April 22 2019 - 10:24AM
Independence Holding Company (NYSE: IHC) today announced the
acquisition of a call center in order to capitalize on
technology-driven trends in the purchase of health insurance
directly by consumers.
David Kettig, President of IHC, commented, “IHC
Specialty Benefits, a division of IHC, is a significant standalone
insurance agency with a growing block of over $180 million of
premiums. The agency has historically sold IHC-underwritten health
insurance in the under-65 market, but is now entering new markets,
expanding its carrier choices and product options, and implementing
scalable direct-to-consumer (D2C) technology-driven
solutions. By linking individuals and small employer groups
to U.S. health insurance carriers (including IHC’s insurers), IHC
Specialty Benefits can better serve the growing demand for D2C
health insurance options by delivering an end-to-end experience to
the consumer.
So far this year, we have accomplished a number
of goals, including: (i) significant improvement of our sales and
enrollment platforms, primarily as a result of the acquisition of
My1HR, (ii) expansion of our career agency (i.e. independent agents
selling products exclusively on our platforms) through deployment
of a new management team and recruitment of new agents, (iii)
executing on the previously announced acquisition of a sales and
customer service center, which will immediately bring us to more
than 100 licensed employee agents, and (iv) growing our lead
generation capabilities as a consequence of continued investment in
organic properties and technology driven solutions. We will
implement the next phase of the expansion of our agency by: (i)
entering the senior market by May 1st and fully deployed in time
for the Medicare Annual Enrollment Period (AEP), (ii) developing
and deploying a platform that will allow employees of small
employer groups to perform side-by-side comparisons of various
employee benefit coverages, (iii) significantly growing the agent
count in our highly scalable call center model, (iv) filing
individual vision plans that will be available to all age groups in
conjunction with a leading vision network, and (v) deploying a
revamped mobile experience in line with our intentions of growing
our “insuretech” footprint. The key to the success of all of
these endeavors starts with generating sufficient leads at
affordable prices. We have a network of outside lead
generators and are increasing our marketing through affinity
groups, including servicing USAA members seeking health insurance.
In addition, we are undertaking efforts that we expect will reduce
our overall cost of lead generation, while guaranteeing a
consistent supply of in-house leads to fuel our growth. These
initiatives include: (i) investing in a digital marketing agency
which will drive exclusive lead traffic in the under and over age
65 health insurance space, as well as the pet insurance market,
(ii) partnering with leading search marketing firms to drive
exclusive lead traffic, and (iii) acquiring additional web domains
and employing enhanced search engine optimization (SEO) expertise
to maximize lead traffic through currently owned web
domains.
One of the drivers of the growth in the
direct-to-consumer space is that Americans who are aging into
Medicare, which is estimated to be 10,000 per day, are now
generally savvier in using technology to make informed decisions on
health insurance. Seniors qualifying for Medicare today are
more proficient at purchasing on-line, and all age groups are
expressing the desire to be offered options when purchasing health
insurance. For example, prior to retirement, many seniors
enjoyed group dental and vision plans through their
employers. These seniors are often very interested in
purchasing individual dental and vision plans when they retire, and
they are comfortable doing so on-line or with the assistance of a
call center agent. To address this demand, we continue to
invest in and improve our platforms, and we expect to be selling to
the senior market in the third quarter utilizing a platform
featuring Medicare Supplement and Medicare Advantage products as
well as an array of ancillary products from leading insurance
companies, including our senior vision and dental plans.
By the end of the third quarter of this year,
IHC will be uniquely situated, through its vertically integrated
structure, to better serve the growing demand for D2C health
insurance options by delivering an end-to-end experience to the
consumer, including a broad base of products across the entire
spectrum of age groups and needs. We will provide
state-of-the-art on-line and mobile tools linking individuals and
families in need of insurance coverage (whether they are retired,
self-employed or work for a small employer group that does not
offer employee benefits or they are seeking to protect against
veterinary expenses) to highly rated insurance companies. Our
enterprise will include: (i) digital marketing and website domains
that will drive exclusive lead traffic for ancillary health and pet
insurance, (ii) exchanges that will permit individuals to perform
side-by-side comparisons of various employee benefit and pet
insurance coverages, (iii) sales and customer service centers with
licensed employee agents available to respond to consumer
questions; (iv) a wholly owned insurance company, licensed in all
50 states, which will have the broadest mix of ancillary health and
pet insurance in the country, and (v) access to other highly rated
insurers for life, senior and P&C products.”
About The IHC Group
Independence Holding Company (NYSE: IHC), formed
in 1980, is a holding company that is principally engaged in
underwriting, administering and/or distributing group and
individual specialty benefit products, including disability,
supplemental health, pet, and group life insurance through its
subsidiaries (Independence Holding Company and its subsidiaries
collectively referred to as “The IHC Group”). The IHC Group
consists of three insurance companies (Standard Security Life
Insurance Company of New York, Madison National Life Insurance
Company, Inc. and Independence American Insurance Company), and IHC
Specialty Benefits, Inc., a technology-driven full-service
marketing and distribution company that focuses on small employer
and individual consumer products through general agents,
telebrokerage, call centers, private label arrangements, and
through the following brands: www.HealtheDeals.com; Health eDeals
Advisors; www.PetPartners.com; www.PetPlace.com, and My1HR.
Forward-looking Statements
Certain statements and information contained in
this release may be considered “forward-looking statements,” such
as statements relating to management's views with respect to future
events and financial performance. Such forward-looking
statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors
that could cause actual results to differ materially from
historical experience or from future results expressed or implied
by such forward-looking statements. Potential risks and
uncertainties include, but are not limited to, economic conditions
in the markets in which IHC operates, new federal or state
governmental regulation, IHC’s ability to effectively operate,
integrate and leverage any past or future strategic acquisition,
and other factors which can be found in IHC’s other news releases
and filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. IHC
expressly disclaims any duty to update its forward-looking
statements unless required by applicable law.
CONTACT: Loan Nisser(646)
509-2107www.IHCGroup.com
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