The question points to the major upheavals coming to the health insurance industry. Societal megatrends, the promise of new technology, shifts underway in healthcare, technological leapfrogging by developing countries, regulatory shocks and many other disruptions are reshaping the health industry at an unprecedented pace.
Populationaging, increased healthcare expenditure, rising inequality contributing toglobal instability are among the major societal trends with expected far-reaching economic and socio -political consequences.
The convergence and combination of newtechnologies and scientific progress is reshaping the health care system and the health insurance sector.
Geneticsallows the identification of genetic predispositions for certain diseases. Genetherapy, the design of personalized treatments. Nanotechnology holds enormouspotential with its promise to optimize the precision of drug delivery. In thecognitive sciences, research on brain -machine interfaces, which decodephysiological signals from the brain and convert them into outputs, alreadyenables the restoration of bodily movement and function. Quantum computing,which opens new possibilities in data processing, accelerating the process by amillion -fold or more, could provide breakthroughs in many disciplines,including drug discovery and artificial intelligence.
Shifts inthe healthcare system toward patient -centred and outcome- -based deliverymodels rely on patient empowerment and connected health technologies. Thepatient’s growing power, thanks to unprecedented access to health informationand the need for an overhaul of the patient- -provider relationship for activepatient involvement, is creating new models of care that lead toward moreholistic and preventative medical care. The availability of massive volumes ofhealth data has laid the foundation for personal data -intensive processes,which makes data privacy and ethics highly pressing concerns.
Regulation and ethics at stake in the insurance industry
With theglobalization of the sector, we observe trends converging worldwide intoprudential measures for insurance and reinsurance. The triptych Data--Algorithm -Machine is about to destabilize our anthropological, societal,legal, and ethical frames of reference. The developing, but not yet harmonized,regulation of personal data protection will reshape the way in which data ishandled in healthcare and in the insurance industry. Even if the benefits ofpersonal genomics are evident, they do raise ethical, legal and social issues,knowing that regulations on the use of genetic information are not yetstandardized across the world. New competitors are disrupting the healthinsurance industry: non- -traditional operators, whose business and productsleverage technologies such as analytics, artificial intelligence (AI) and theInternet of Things (IoT), break with sector business processes across theentire value chain.
New formsof work and economic organization, new communities arereshaping traditional insurance markets, opening up new market segments such aspeer groups or interest communities. For example, Facebook counts more usersthan the population of China, Twitter twice the population of the USA.
Is there any future to health insurance?
Yes, thereis. But it is less clear for healthinsurers… There may be much more accurate health risk assessments, but riskcould still materialize, so uncertainty remains. Progress in Epigenetics hasproven that external, environmental and behavioural factors affect geneexpression, debunking absolute genetic determinism.
Insurancecompanies must go beyond quantifying and pricing risk, from a curative businessmodel based on reimbursement to more preventative and personalized offers:developing non -insurance offerings such as healthcare services andprevention programmes as a way to change the relationship with their insurees,from short -term transaction to long -term partnership, aiming at improvingtheir health outcomes and behaviours. The health industry should be able toseize business opportunities. With increased globalisation, internationalprivate medical insurance registers an annual growth rate of about
11%. Generating and influencing new communities ofinterest and making them into new markets and distribution channels might alsobe future marketing opportunities for companies and brokers.
Insurancecompanies could also be part of the healthcare system, operating healthcarefacilities in an holistic approach to the patient-insuree. Prerequisite to thefuture of the health insurance industry is adopting an ecosystem perspectivefocused on consumers’ needs and addressing health determinants. Insurers mustbuild a platform strategy with IT interoperability, acting as gatekeepers totheir customers’ needs, because ownership of a customer relationship is theonly way to reduce the risk of disintermediation by other stakeholders.
The health industry has entered the age of data
New toolsand analytics, giving companies and brokers a much deeper understanding oftheir customers, will allow the delivery of an enhanced customer experience,resulting in increased revenue and improved customer loyalty. To turn collecteddata into a valuable asset, insurers must break down data silos, connectdisparate databases, organize data governance and consider algorithmics as corebusiness. Insurers have to strengthen trust and invest in data privacy & AIethics because if there is no trust there will be no business. Therefore dataprotection in the health insurance industry is crucial for the sustainabilityof the sector.
Jean-Louis Davet
Is deputy CEO of VYV, the largest French healthinsurer in France, covering more than 10 million people (15% of thepopulation), operating more than 1000 healthcare facilities. Jean‑Louis has been the initiator and leader of the group’s digitaltransition, data and platform strategies. He has also served as VP of ICMIFBoard (International Cooperative and Mutual Insurance Federation) and Presidentof the Health Committee of the Insurance Development Forum. He has been the maindriver in the implementation in France of the new EU prudential framework forthe insurance industry (Solvency II) and in the development of the mutualistmodel of health insurance in China.
The Group VYV
French leader in health insurance and services, the Group has developed anecosystem strategy addressing major health determinants and covering a largerange of their customers‑patients‑residents‑insurees’ needs.
They have implemented health educationprogrammes including physical activity, exercising and sports adapted to allages and health statuses. They also developed a service marketplace for theirinsurees. VYV operates a large network of healthcare facilities in variousmedical specialties: medical and rehabilitation centres, hospitals, clinics,dental and eye clinics, residential care homes and nursing homes for theelderly, psychiatric institutions and centres for people with disabilities.Additionally, they own nationwide optical and hearing aid centres, pharmacies,medical transport agencies, medical equipment stores, funeral service agencies,networks of in ‑home care services and in ‑home nursing care services.
They have made investments in social andstudent housing, and innovative projects related to smart, healthy and safehomes and smart cities.
To act as a true ecosystem player, VYV buildspartnerships with, and invests in, operators from other industries.
