(Boston, MA. – May 3rd, 2010) DALBAR, Inc. announced today the release of its review of health insurance web sites. This review compared the usefulness of 19 leading insurers web sites. The majority of these health insurer web sites offer many resources and helpful tools for consumers interested in maintaining a healthy lifestyle. In direct contrast, DALBAR’s recent report on the usefulness of the Explanation of Benefits Statement found 68% of them received failing grades.
“Consumers who rely on traditional sources for information will be left in the dark,” said Kathleen Whalen, Managing Director at DALBAR. “Those that want to understand their plan and care about their overall health need to log-in to their insurer�s web site, and what if they can�t�?”
The review found five insurers that stand out for providing uniquely personalized services, including:
- BlueCross BlueShield of North Carolina: Provides access to videos from members with ailments that profile their real life stories and show exactly how the specific services gave these members peace of mind.
- BlueCross BlueShield of Massachusetts: Members can create Google Health Profiles which enables them to pull together and store medical records and download records from other providers.
- Excellus BlueCross BlueShield: Offers HealthyRewards Program with many on-line tools to incent members to focus on a healthy lifestyle.
- Humana: Provides access to Humana�s most important tools such as urgent care finder, spending account balance viewer and ID card details via MyHumana mobile.
- United Healthcare: Promotes a “Health Care Lane” video where members can click on health care professionals standing on “Main Street” and elaborate on areas of interest such as “How to access care.”
DALBAR, Inc. has been a leading third-party evaluator in the financial services industry since 1976. With offices in the U.S., Canada and London, DALBAR develops standards for — and provides research, ratings and rankings of � the many factors that influence a firm�s overall customer-service experience. Such factors include public Web sites and proprietary portals, print communications, interactive voice response units, call centers, and financial adviser services.
About DALBAR, Inc.
DALBAR, Inc., the nation’s leading financial services market research and consulting firm, is committed to raising the standards of excellence in the financial services industry. With offices in both the US and Canada, DALBAR develops standards for, and provides research, ratings, and rankings of intangible factors to the mutual fund, broker/dealer, life insurance, property and casualty, and managed account industries. They include investor behavior, customer satisfaction, service quality, communications, Internet services, and financial professional ratings. www.dalbar.com.
