Data and digital innovation to transform global employee benefits, says MAXIS GBN

Major digital and data developments in the global employee benefits industry will deliver tangible cost savings and improve engagement, according to MAXIS Global Benefits Network (GBN). These developments include employee benefits management platforms, data analytics dashboards and healthcare and insurance technology. In a new report, MAXIS GBN Global Perspectives – Data and Digital Innovation and The Future of Global Employee Benefits, the firm says there are four major digital and data developments driving the future of the global employee benefits industry: The adoption of global benefits platforms to centralise employee benefits enrolment and management Data analytics generating increasingly sophisticated actionable insights Health and wellness technology helping employers create targeted wellness programmes Insurtech innovations such as artificial intelligence, distributed ledger technologies (DLTs) and robotic process automation, which are changing the sector and catering for the needs of new generations. According to MAXIS GBN, one of the major catalysts of change in the employee benefits sector is cloud-based benefits platforms, which allow multinationals to centralise administration as well as control costs, reduce overheads and improve risk mitigation. However, research suggests adoption by employers at the global level is still lagging behind local-only usage, with only about 10% of employers saying they use a benefits platform in every country, states the firm, but it adds that it “is confident this figure will increase significantly, given the need for more centralised control over benefits spend, the trend for flexible benefits and tightening regulations around data governance”. The report notes that expectations around DLTs, such as blockchain, have accelerated during the past 12 months: “It is likely that DLTs will be increasingly used across key aspects of the insurance world, including employee benefits, to deliver smarter, instant contracts, better transparency and claims management, as well as greater flexibility for all parties. Its impact on reinsurance processes can be significant and deliver substantial savings.” Helga Viegas, director, digital marketing and innovation at MAXIS GBN, commented: “We are seeing a significant acceleration of ‘digital transformation’-type activity in the global employee benefits space, which is by definition slower to innovate than more advanced local markets. DLTs are one of the most exciting parts of a fast-digitalising employee benefits industry, even though it’s a change in the underlying IT infrastructure that will be fairly invisible to the end user. While a number of challenges remain for those looking to implement a blockchain solution, such as how to effectively exchange information between different systems, the business case is very strong. We have begun looking at how DLTs can be used and there is a clear sense that the concept could transform the insurance market within a few years.” The report reveals that the outcomes of good data and technology usage can be dramatic. It points to a client that was faced with a very high loss ratio (130%) in one jurisdiction, but was able to bring this down to breakeven after analysing health claims data to identify cost drivers and use these insights to make wellness recommendations. It notes this was despite the wider medical cost trend increasing from 9% to 15% during the same period.

Data and digital innovation to transform global employee benefits, says MAXIS GBN

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