MAX BUPA INKS ALLIANCE WITH GOQII & SWISS RE TO VREATE AN INTEGRATED HEALTH & WELLNESS ECOSYSTEM

by Shrutee K/DNS

Mumbai –In keeping with its mission to help customers live healthier and more successful lives, Max Bupa Health Insurance has announced an exclusive three way tie up with GOQi, a leading fitness technology player offering an integrated wellness ecosystem in India, and Swiss Re, a leading global reinsurer, to provide unique health and wellness offerings. The alliance combines the strength of a health insurer and a digital Health and Wellness expert to provide holistic Health and Wellness offerings to serve the evolving health needs of the digital customer. Max Bupa proposes to offer its consumers ready access to GOQii’s unique personalized wellness engine which is equipped with solutions such as health coaching and health management tools. Swiss Re will provide technical assistance to Max Bupa in creating relevant products and expertise to create risk assessment models for future.

As a part of recent health insurance guidelines, IRDAI is laying a strong emphasis on driving the shift from ‘illness to wellness’ and encouraging insurance companies to create offerings that cater to preventive healthcare needs of customers. Max Bupa and GOQii will introduce health insurance solutions that will enable customers to secure their health and encourage them to lead healthier lives, subject to relevant regulatory approvals.

Commenting on the alliance, Ashish Mehrotra, MD & CEO, Max Bupa said, “Over the last few years, we have seen a significant increase in uptake of health insurance among customers under the age of 35 years. This segment is very active digitally and is turning to technology to stay fit. It is predicted that by 2019, 2 out of 5 internet users will use a health app. Engagement with such tools could be as high as 50%. This gives us a huge opportunity to promote holistic wellness by leveraging personal healthcare devices that are capable of tracking and relaying medically useful information. Offering pre-emptive wellness solutions for maintaining their health is one effective way to engage with young customers and encourage them to buy health insurance. GOQii, with its rich expertise in the digital wellness space, provides an ideal platform that will help us penetrate deeper into this segment and serve the large uninsured population in the country.”

Talking about the partnership, Anika Agarwal, SVP & Head-Marketing, Digital and Direct Sales, Max Bupa said, “Of the overall health insurance purchase, currently 14% customers are digitally influenced. However, by 2020, the same is expected to be upwards of 50%. Hence, engaging with the digitally savvy customer becomes imperative. Our partnership with GOQii is of great strategic value as digital and on-the-go fitness solutions with integrated apps will be the key driver in growth of Health and Wellness in coming years. We are sure our strategic tie up with GOQii and Swiss Re will enable us contextualize conversations with our existing customers on the web and also decipher their lifestyle and health habits to personalize our products and service offerings.”

Commenting on the alliance, Vishal Gondal, Founder & CEO, GOQii said, “At GOQii, we respond to consumer insights with the help of technology innovations to offer fitness products and services which blend seamlessly in a consumer’s lifestyle and add value. Going beyond the wearable fitness band, we have introduced tools and services which inculcate the intent of healthy living among consumers. To complement our offerings around pre-emptive healthcare and wellness, we have partnered with Max Bupa, which is a specialist health insurer, known for its differentiated and comprehensive health offerings. ”

Kalpana Sampat, CEO of Swiss Re India Branch, added, “We are delighted to partner with Max Bupa and GOQii. With more tech-savvy and health conscious consumers, insurers like Max Bupa will have much to gain from working together with partners like GoQii. The overall health insurance programme connected with technology will help to reduce claims cost and allow insurers to better price their products for consumers. With the opening of our India branch, our focus is to develop sustainable practices in health insurance. We will provide technical support through our costing and risk management expertise. Our aim is to support insurers and tap into the opportunities that the digital healthcare ecosystem presents, and encourage consumers to adopt a healthier lifestyle.”

Max Bupa has a strong focus on utilizing technology to deliver the best in class service experience to its customers. Over the years, the company has strengthened its position as a leader in the technology space, with a host of technological innovations across customer touch points including point of sale, claim and renewal. This initiative will enable Max Bupa to penetrate into newer customer segments and boost new business growth.

About Max Bupa Health Insurance: Max Bupa is a, 51:49, joint venture between Max India Limited, a multi-business corporate with expertise in life insurance and health care and Bupa, a leading global health and care company with 65 years of healthcare knowledge. Max Bupa brings together a combination of Bupa’s health insurance and customer service expertise with Max India’s understanding and experience of the Indian health and insurance sectors. Max Bupa offers quality health insurance services through a dedicated team of over 1400 people and its network of 28 offices across 16 cities - Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai, Bangalore, Pune, Ludhiana, Chandigarh, Jaipur, Surat, Kochi, Kolkata, Patna, Goa and Jodhpur. Max Bupa offers individual and family oriented health insurance policies for Indians across all age groups. Max Bupa has a direct working relationship with a network of over 3600 top quality hospitals and healthcare providers.

About GOQii: the world’s leading Health and Wellness Company holds the no.1 position in the Indian wearable market as per latest IDC report. Headquartered in California with offices in Mumbai and Shenzhen, the company is dedicated to enabling a permanent shift to a healthier lifestyle with the combination of advanced wearable technology, the world’s leading experts, coaches, doctors and karma. The unique GOQii proposition includes an advance wearable tracker, an app, guidance from global experts, coaching counsel and the ability to support a cause that matters to users. GOQii focuses on sustained engagement & goal reinforcement and offers a complete ecosystem as a single integrated solution, which is a powerful combination of technology and human connection. GOQii is only the third Indian company to have a management case study published in Harvard Business Publishing platform for educators. GOQii’s goal is to enable millions across the world to ‘Be the Force’ and unleash their untapped potential.

About Swiss Re : The Swiss Re Group is a leading wholesale provider of reinsurance, insurance and other insurance-based forms of risk transfer. Dealing direct and working through brokers, its global client base consists of insurance companies, mid-to-large-sized corporations and public sector clients. From standard products to tailor-made coverage across all lines of business, Swiss Re deploys its capital strength, expertise and innovation power to enable the risk-taking upon which enterprise and progress in society depend. Founded in Zurich, Switzerland, in 1863, Swiss Re serves clients through a network of around 70 offices globally and is rated "AA-" by Standard & Poor's, "Aa3" by Moody's and "A+" by A.M. Best. Registered shares in the Swiss Re Group holding company, Swiss Re Ltd, are listed in accordance with the International Reporting Standard on the SIX Swiss Exchange and trade under the symbol SREN. For more information about Swiss Re Group, please visit: www.swissre.com or follow us on Twitter @SwissRe.

Swiss Re has been associated with Asia since 1913 and has over 1,900 employees in Asia Pacific.  The company has offices in Beijing, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Mumbai, Tokyo, Seoul, Shanghai, Sydney, Singapore and Bangalore, where it operates a Global Business Solutions Center.