Introduction

The Problem

Our Premiums Were Outmatched

Our shoppers were paying $170 more per month than private enrollees. We lost hundreds of customers every year to private enrollments.

Marketplace Coverage Was Unaffordable

Healthcare costs continue to skyrocket while coverage becomes less and less comprehensive. Marketplace plans were known for their ridiculous premiums and sky-high deductibles. While affordable coverage was out there, it required enrolling privately through insurance carriers.

We made private-plan shopping possible to offer affordable coverage for our shoppers.

Skip to Resolution

The Kickoff

A screenshot of a microsoft teams presentation of the private shopping prototype

Presenting our high-fidelity prototype to our clients.

Selling Our Solution

Everything checked out. All that was left was to sell the solution to our client. We created a high-fidelity prototype to demonstrate our proposed solution.

Our demo couldn't have gone better. Our clients were astounded at the lengths we went to reconcile the situation. The project was a go, and we were already off to a good start.

An early design of the "Private vs Marketplace" page

Early mockup of our "Private vs Marketplace" page.

Coverage Crossroads

The project's scope solely included in-house shopping for private plans, meaning marketplace shoppers would continue using our third-party's external shopping platform.

We were forced to separate the shopping experiences and insert a crossroads where shoppers choose to shop privately or through the marketplace. 

The pre-enrollment assessment's recommendation pageAn early mockup of the pre-enrollment assessment for a single individual, not families

The Pre-Enrollment Assessment's recommendation page.

Call Volume Concerns Minimized Our Offering

Our MVP included online shopping but not applying online. We required shoppers to apply for coverage on the phone with an agent. Due to concerns about call volume, we had to significantly filter down which plans we offered and define who would benefit from the limited plan offerings.

We used The Pre-Enrollment Assessment results to recommend a plan type and suggest private or marketplace shopping. We then targeted users that would benefit most from shopping privately and kept the call volume to a minimum.

Research

Diagram showing the 2021 private sales based on metal tiers

Graph demonstrating the percentage of private plans sold per metal tier.

Research Exposed Private Shopping Trends

I held a focus group with seven agents. I received several insights regarding the current private shopping trends to help influence my design decisions.

  • Private sales were generally bronze and silver plans.
  • Members were enrolling in private plans outside of us for better rates. Agents would reach out and re-enroll them directly with us.

Based on the shopping trends, we chose to solely recommend private plans when silver was a good fit.

The Resolution

Final design of the private shopping results page

Our private shopping results final design.

Private shopping plan details page

The plan details final design.

Final design of the "Private vs Marketplace" page

The "Private vs Marketplace" final design

The Launch

Over $14,000 Saved In Premiums

The project launched right in time for the annual enrollment period. The success has brought us closer to an in-house shopping solution for all of our plans. Next, we expand private shopping to all our clients throughout the United States and open the product offering to all metal tiers.

Next season, we are building side-by-side plan comparisons, more robust filtering, and online applications. Once these improvements are complete, we plan to also offer marketplace plans in-house.

Key Takeaways

  • A successful launch requires seamless coordination between technology and operations. A lack of agent training and resources stifled the project's success.
  • Projects with many moving parts require considerable coordination with other teams. Having a buffer on our roadmaps to launch work harmoniously prevents delays.
Photo of Austin Andriese

Austin Andriese

UX Designer @WTW

WTW

Global insurance service provider.

Product

Website, Healthcare Coverage E-Commerce Shopping Platform

Role

Designed the product end-to-end, conducted user research, closely collaborated with developers and external teams.

Date

August 2022 - October 2022

Let's Get In Touch

If you feel like I’d be a good fit on your team shoot me an email and we’ll get in touch.

Email Me