Insurance Age - Groupama sets its sights on e-trading platform

Insurance Age - Groupama sets its sights on e-trading platform: Groupama sets its sights on e-trading platform

Sarah Hills



Groupama is pushing for an e-trading portal, similar to imarket, in the healthcare sector. The broker-only insurer has held meetings with the likes of Bupa, Axa, Jelf, Acturis, the Association of Medical Insurers and imarket in order to bring the sector up-to-date in e-commerce.

Derek Findlayson, UK business development manager at Groupama, said: "This is a positive move in the healthcare market because to a large extent, e-commerce within this sector does not exist. It has become clear that this part of the industry was inefficient and needed to move forward in order to enhance customer service."

He added that the current processes were labour intensive: "This is a great opportunity for the healthcare sector because it can start from scratch and develop an effective system. This should, in turn, improve efficiency."

Imarket is said to be looking at the proposition, and the sector is expected to produce a feasibility report by the end of March, to see if the solution is practical.

Phil Taylor, managing director of Preferred Medical, said that it was up to insurers to push the concept forward: "There are one or two insurers that can see the benefits of an e-trading portal, but it is up to the likes of Bupa and Axa to invest time and resources into the initiative."

He added: "This would make a big difference to the healthcare sector and provide opportunities to grow. At the moment, the amount of re-keying and manual labour leaves us behind the rest of the market."

The proposed e-trading portal would also provide an opportunity for commercial brokers that are considering entering the sector.

Mr Findlayson said: "An efficient electronic trading platform provides the potential for cross-selling. Large commercial brokers are starting to develop schemes because of the opportunities within healthcare, but they need some means by which they can do that. Although this initiative is in its early stages, the process is starting to gain momentum."