Taking the hassle out of health insurance

It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the unremitting logistics of adult life. One 2018 survey found that the average person has to carry out 109 life admin tasks a year—that’s about one every three days.

Whether it’s tackling our tax return, reviewing our car insurance, paying household bills or applying for a new passport, none of these jobs make our hearts sing with joy. That’s because many of these tasks are fiddly, time-consuming and often involve spending ages in a telephone queue.

The upshot? We invariably procrastinate and put off the task, while our mountain of paperwork continues to grow. We’re all familiar with that nagging sense of guilt that an ever-increasing to-do list can bring—and it does little to create a sense of wellbeing or protect our health, finances or future security.

A digital solution for life admin

Andrew Cass, Australian Unity’s Strategic Product Owner, understands this perspective firsthand, but he believes that technology may provide a welcome solution. “None of us wake up and think: ‘Oh, I might give Australian Unity a call today! I haven't spoken to them for a while!’ Our members call us to find out information and make changes and we want to make this easier for them” he admits.

“The reality is we all live busy lives. I've got a son, I work full time, I’m doing some renovations at home... And because I am busy, I do most of my personal admin at night, and a lot of call centres are closed at that time.”

Instead, Andrew relies on the Australian Unity Health app for his health insurance–related life admin, whether it’s updating his personal details or instantly checking what benefits he’s eligible for. “For example, due to working on my renovations, I’m pretty sore, so I just used the app to view my remaining benefits before I decide to book a remedial massage.”

Australian Unity health insurance members can also use the app to check their extra limits, review policy information, update details and make a clam, all at the tap of a button.

A simplified claims process

One of the joys of private health insurance is claiming your benefit for your dental check-up, physio appointment or new glasses. Filling in a claims form? Not so much.

To simplify this process, the Australian Unity Health app recently introduced a digital card that lets members make on-the-spot extras claims at any provider with a terminal machine. Members simply tap their iPhone or Android phone to make contactless claims and receive an instant benefit only paying the gap amount—they don’t even need to carry a physical health insurance card.

Or if you’d rather lodge a claim later, you can quickly and easily upload the necessary information online.

“We’ve made it really simple,” says Andrew. “It literally just involves taking a photo of your invoice and hitting submit to make a claim online.”

Looking forwards, Andrew explains that Australian Unity’s digital team is working to find ways to support members’ health and make sure their healthcare experiences go as smoothly as possible.

“We’re looking at building personalised experiences to help support a member when they are going to hospital, for example,” he says.

Making life easier—for everyone

While it’s true that new technology can sometimes feel intimidating, Andrew insists that the Australian Unity app is specifically designed to be accessible for everyone. “Our whole approach is really about making digital products easy to use for all members,” he insists.

“I remember when we got customer feedback from an older member who said they don’t like technology normally, but that they loved how easy it was to use our app. What they told us was that it actually made their lives easier.”