Groupama Healthcare has called for the wider adoption of technology within the health insurance sector to help brokers and intermediaries reduce costs, cut duplication, save time and improve service standards to policyholders.

The call coincides with Groupama’s health care launch of the pilot of its new Easy Admin service, an online facility to ease the administrative burden on brokers and intermediaries.

Alistair Sclare, head of underwriting at Groupama Healthcare, said: “Currently there are only a small number of health insurers which have invested in online capabilities to support their broker businesses. This has got to change.

“The benefits of being able to conduct business online are obvious – it’s quicker, more efficient, offers greater control and frees up resources so that brokers can concentrate on spending time with their clients, enhancing the level of service on offer. It’s a win-win situation all round.

“The best place to start is by improving the basic administration tasks involved in managing new and existing business and that’s exactly what we have done with the creation of our new Easy Admin service.“

The first phase of Groupama’s Easy Admin service is currently being piloted with a small number of brokers before being fully rolled out later in the summer. This first phase will empower brokers to make a number of routine changes and obtain information on existing business swiftly and efficiently, whether it’s deleting or adding information or producing duplicate certificates.

Dave Collinge, spokesman for SMQ Services, said: “We have used Easy Admin several times during this pilot and it is certainly very slick and easy to use. Being able to administer a Groupama policy in all areas such as adding and removing members, general policy housekeeping and downloading members registration certificates will greatly speed up the day- to -day processes of taking care of our clients with Groupama. The system will also integrate well with our own back office system as SMQ runs a near paperless environment.”

Mr Sclare concluded: “Easy Admin is an important development, not only for Groupama Healthcare’s brokers and intermediaries but the health insurance sector as a whole. It really demonstrates how enormous cost efficiencies can be gained by using simple technology to remove cumbersome processes and unnecessary paperwork. Crucially, it also frees up more time for brokers, helping them to concentrate on what they do best – that is winning and retaining business in what is a highly competitive area of the market.”

Increasingly, British insurers are finding innovative ways to keep premiums down, in particular linking PMI premiums to the fitness of the policyholder - encouraging a healthier lifestyle and reducing the likelihood of claims.

PruHealth's Vitality Plan, sold through Boots and elsewhere, rewards policyholders for staying fit. If they use the gym regularly, do not smoke and undergo regular check-ups, they can earn discounts of up to 75% on their premiums. And there are guaranteed no-claims bonuses of at least 25%.

Additionally, a growing number of insurers, including Standard Life Healthcare, offer no-claims discounts that can be transferred from other insurers. So if a customer has not claimed for the past two years and then moves insurer, in some cases they will be eligible for an immediate discount. Traditionally, insurers have applied an excess on PMI policies to reduce the premiums. The excess is the first part of any claim that policyholders must meet from their own pockets.