Your competitors are accessing Deft’s syndicated service.

• Identified the age-ins who will be easiest to enroll.
• Leads to several action items regarding the age-in opportunity.
• Great analysis about getting more age-ins to enroll on-line.
• This is very practical stuff.
• Addresses several current questions and sharpens the questions we want answered with future market research.
• This will ultimately save us money.
• Deft gave our team a presentation of the study at no extra charge.
• Deft worked with our team to assure the results were used.
• Deft provided us with a custom analysis based on the study data (no extra charge.)
• This will help us with strategy development over the next several months, and when we start again next year.
• There’s no other place to get information like this about in-home medical technology.

Study: Half of Age-ins will be easier to enroll. Which half?

The 2008 Age-In Study asked a national sample of 1500 consumers aged 63 and 64 for their perspectives on health insurance, in-home medical technology, and on-line enrollment.

More than just description

The study tells us that about half of all age-ins will give their current insurer a competitive advantage when it comes to considering their coverage once eligible for Medicare. Competitive advantage is described in terms of attachment to the current insurer and disinclination to shop.

But this study goes much further than that.

Its analysis will help you predict which age-ins will give you the competitive advantage. If you could do this, you could target your easiest to enroll with a marketing campaign that yields a higher ROI. The study tells you how, in the short term you can identify persons most likely to be easiest to enroll.

Get more details and order the 2008 Age-In Study.

Deft will send you a complete, free, overview of the study. Just make a your request to
Rich Hamer.

Segmentation leads to clear strategies

To see a FREE report overview of the 2008 Age-in Study click here.

Top Line Result

Segmentation allows for Medicare plans to focus on smaller groups of consumers and address issues in marketing that will reach them specifically. Inside Deft’s new 2008 Age-in Study segments of age-in consumers are created using two variables: attachment to current insurer and likelihood of shopping for other carriers, (shown in different colors above). Consumers in blue here don’t need much convincing because they are already attached to their current insurer and unlikely to shop around. In this case their insurer should focus on keeping these consumers aware of the insurer’s Medicare plans and make the enrollment process as seamless as possible.

To find out about the other benefits of segmenting age-ins, click here to download a FREE report overview.

Happy members, happy margins

The 2008 Age-in Study shows insurers that a positive relationship with their older commercial members can actually help them meet their Medicare plan enrollment goals. But even knowing this, insurers still need to know what types of experiences produce this kind of positive relationship. The Age-in Study answers these questions, and helps insurers plot a relationship building strategy.

Order the 2008 Age-In Study.

Experiences with insurer affect relationship

To see a FREE report overview of the 2008 Age-in Study click here.

Top Line Result

We all know that negative experiences, like having a claim denied, can reduce the positive feelings a member has towards their insurer. But what about a more ambivalent experience like calling customer service? Use of customer service line, as shown in the chart above, generally increases the chance that the member believes that the plan cares about their health and that their insurance company treats members better. This is the kind of experience that improves a customers relationship with their insurer and makes them more likely to stick with that insurer when they switch to a Medicare plan.

To find out about the other experiences that build relationships, click here to download a FREE report overview.

The “Shift Left” Strategy

The 2008 Age-in Study helps health plans determine who among their own customers are most likely to give them a competitive advantage over other insurers when looking for a Medicare plan. We call this group “Inactive” consumers and characterize them as easier to enroll. “Inactives” are attached to their current insurer and unlikely to shop elsewhere. The study introduces a “Shift Left” strategy that explains which customer experiences and characteristics predict Inactive status. It tells you how, in the short term you can identify persons most likely to be inactive consumers. It also charts a longer term strategy for leading age-ins who will otherwise end up as more active consumers towards the inactive consumerism group.

Order the 2008 Age-In Study.
Most Inactive Age-ins Give their Current Plans a Priority Competitive Advantage

Deft will send you a complete, free, overview of the study. Just make a your request to Barb Strnad.

Easy enrollees are a reality!

More than any other consumerism segment, Inactive age-ins are willing to give their current health insurer a competitive advantage over other companies. When it is time to look for a Medicare plan, this competitive advantage may come in the form of reaching out to the insurer, sometimes before any other insurers, or giving them priority over other companies if their insurer contacts
them. The new permission based marketing environment makes age-ins who reach out to you an even more valuable asset. Deft Research’s Age-in Study helps you identify and acquire these low hanging fruit.

Deft Research is currently offering a special package to purchasers of the 2008 Age-In Study. See details here.

Using This Information

The study’s Loyalty Report will enable you to predict which of your current aging-in enrollees are loyal to you and which are not. Deft has obtained attitudes about current insurers and shopping behavior. Our analysis provides a linkage to past behaviors and experiences that you can use to identify your best age-in prospects. You will also come to understand with greater illumination what steps to take to develop better relationships with this all-important group of prospects.

Order the 2008 Age-In Study.

What’s an Age-In to Do?

Top Line Result

Twenty percent said that when they started looking for Medicare related insurance, their current health insurer would be the first carrier they would call. Another 15% said they would call their current insurer if the insurer offered a competitive product. The extent to which health insurers have a loyalty-based relationship with age-ins determines the ability to sieze opportunities with this segment.

Deft Research is currently offering a special package to purchasers of the 2008 Age-In Loyalty and Technology Study. See details here.

TOP LINE RESULT

A special offer is currently available for purchasers of the 2008 Senior Market Dynamics Study. To see a sample of results from this study or get an order form for the special offer please e-mail Barb Strnad, bstrnad@deftresearch.com.

Below is a chart showing how those individuals who shopped for or switched health insurance compare to those who did not look for new coverage during the AEP. If their plan’s premium increased by thirty dollars a month 42% of those who did not shop would begin looking for new coverage, while this is true for 63% of those who switched during the AEP. This study also looks at the switching patterns and price sensitivity of Group Retirees and Dual Eligibles.

TOP LINE RESULT

If you would like to see a preview of this study, please e-mail Barb Strnad at
bstrnad@deftresearch.com. A special offer is currently available for purchasers of the Senior Market Dynamics 2008 study. To see this offer, and the order form click HERE.

During the recent annual election period 14% of individuals switched their medical coverage plan. Another 32% of those individuals shopped for new coverage but did not switch. One of the items that differentiates these groups is their use of insurance agents. In fact, 26% of switchers said they relied on their agent to decide which insurer they should choose. This was true for just 15% of shoppers. This study also looks at seniors that are Group Retirees, Dual Eligibles and those with no supplemental health coverage.

If you would like to see a preview of this study, please e-mail Barb Strnad at
bstrnad@deftresearch.com. A special offer is currently available for purchasers of the Senior Market Dynamics 2008 study. To see this offer, and the order form click HERE.

Deft Research’s new study, Senior Market Dynamics and it’s sister study, National Senior Loyalty both predict and explain the Medicare consumer’s plan switching behavior during the last Annual Enrollment Period. The table above shows that the Loyalty Study conducted prior to AEP predicted an upswing in the number of persons who would switch. And the Market Dynamics Study shows that an upswing did indeed occur. We also can see that the Loyalty Study predictions of higher switching rates were more accurate for Medicare Advantage customers, who switched at a rate of one in five, than for Medigap customers, whose switch rate was about half of MA’s. These different switch rates occurred despite our findings that similar percents of both MA and Medigap customers shopped.

Deft’s new Senior Market Dynamics will focus on the phenomenon of Medigap stickiness. Many Medicare marketers are wondering why so many Medigap customers shop, but fail to switch. Conventional wisdom is being challenged by this information suggesting that our assumptions about consumer price sensitivity and income brackets are flawed.

More Questions Answered

Not only do these the studies help you understand what happened, but they also help you plan for the future. Clients of Deft’s syndicated studies spend less time obtaining information and more time analyzing, discussing, and developing clear strategies that everyone on their team understands. The information leads to answers to marketing’s most important questions.

• Product What products should we emphasize?
• Price What should the price be?
• Place What should the marketing mix be?
• Position What market position should we take?

source: Deft Research, LLC

Why Seniors Want to Switch?

The 2007 National Senior Loyalty Study measures seniors intention to switch their medical and drug insurance. This study, recently released by Deft Research, LLC, seeks to determine what differentiates companies with high switch intention rates from those with lower rates. People who are more likely to switch insurers are those who don’t feel like their companies are measuring up to their standards. This study helps identify what successful companies are doing right and how to get companies with high switch intention back on track.