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Employee Spotlight: Sean Wilkins

Posted on by Ideon

At Ideon, we’re proud to have such a talented, diverse team leading the charge for a better and more connected health insurance and employee benefits industry. Our ongoing Employee Spotlight series showcases the people behind our product and unveils what life is like at Ideon. Next up… Sean Wilkins, our Engineering Manager!

Name: Sean Wilkins
Department: Engineering
Title: Engineering Manager
Location: New Jersey

Work

How long have you worked at Ideon?

Since June 2019.

Tell us about your day-to-day.

My day-to-day can vary a lot. Sometimes I am down in the weeds investigating specific issues for customers. But on other occasions, I take a long-term, bird’s eye view to assess where improvements are needed to enhance our service for existing customers or to accommodate new ones.

I also have the opportunity to work directly with customers on how our solutions can fit into their business processes to maximize value. We work hard to meet our customers wherever they are in their digital transformation, so it is important to have a breadth of experience across our solutions.

What projects are you excited to work on?

My team’s responsibilities mainly deal with, broadly speaking, “enrollments data flowing into our system.” One of our tools for importing data is a file-based translation service which we use to translate flat files, such as an XML, CSV, or JSON document. I have really enjoyed improving this service over the last year, in terms of reliability and scalability, as well as making the system easier to modify.

How have you grown professionally while on our team?

Being with Ideon since 2019, I have had a really great opportunity to build my career here. When I joined the company as a “Software Engineer” I was an individual contributor working on our soon-to-be-launched enrollments product. Since then, we’ve seen our team size grow and I have been promoted twice. Now as an “Engineering Manager,” I can leverage the skills and industry knowledge I gained during the earlier stages of the product development to help onboard new team members. I think getting early, on-the-ground experience set me up for success as a manager.

What excites you about the future of Ideon?

I really enjoy the process of taking an idea from concept to execution, seeing it evolve over time as we support more use cases and add functionality. I like sitting between our customers, engineers, and internal operations to hear all sides of the equation and help solve the problems each stakeholder faces.

What do you like about Ideon’s company culture?

I enjoy working with a team of really talented engineers. Prior to my experience at Ideon, I was at smaller companies where the engineering work was really a one-man show. In those situations, I didn’t have anyone to collaborate with. Coming to Ideon and getting a lot more feedback from peers really helped me grow as an engineer and was a breath of fresh air.

Life

Favorite activity when you’re not working? 

The most stereotypical computer nerd answer – video games! Aside from that, I enjoy reading and playing with my dog Dottie.

Favorite place you’ve traveled?

Rome, Italy. I loved the sheer amount of interesting things to do in Rome, from the food to the centuries of history there was never a dull moment when visiting.

Interesting fact about yourself… Go!

Despite my indoor nature as a computer guy, I achieved the rank of Eagle scout and did a lot of hiking and camping growing up.

Ideon-LIMRA Report: Only 8% of Benefits Carriers Use APIs for Most External Connectivity

Posted on by Ideon

NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–When it comes to API adoption, the employee benefits industry is maturing, albeit slowly, according to a new study from LIMRA and Ideon. The 2023 Employee Benefits API Maturity Report surveyed 25 leading workplace benefits carriers to assess the industry’s current API adoption, how close it is to real-time connectivity, and where leading opportunities exist for innovation.

The industry-first benchmark of medical, ancillary, and voluntary benefits carriers provided an API maturity score that measures the depth of carriers’ technological integration, evaluating factors like real-time data processing, API connectivity with external partners, and the degree of automation in their systems and data exchange procedures.

Specifically, carriers’ API maturity was ranked at five levels: nascent, developing, maturing, advanced and leading. Overall, the majority of carriers (56%) are “maturing,” with twice as many “developing” (24%) than “advanced” (12%). Additionally, although a vast majority of carriers (76%) report having API-enabled external connectivity, the actual utilization of APIs for their transactions remains extremely limited: only 8% of respondents said APIs are used for most or all of their external connectivity. This highlights a significant opportunity for the industry: embracing full-scale API utilization would lead to faster, superior member experiences and more efficient operations for carriers and 3rd-party platforms.

“These report findings underscore what we see every day: Most carriers are embracing the API revolution, but there’s still a vast untapped potential to meet the rising digital expectations of members, employers and brokers,” said Michael W. Levin, co-founder and CEO of Ideon. “The fact is, broad API utilization is, and will continue to be, a must-have for carriers seeking to win and retain business. The opportunities are there, and this survey pinpoints where carriers will get the biggest return on their API investments.”

Key findings include:

  • The gap between API development vs. adoption remains large: While 76% of carriers have some degree of API-enabled external connectivity, only 8% of respondents use APIs for most or all external connections.
  • Real-time data processing is limited: Although 48% have real-time data exchange capabilities, only 16% said most or all transactions are processed in real time.
  • EDI remains the dominant method for transmitting enrollment data: 88% of carriers use EDI, vs. 60% of carriers that use APIs to send and receive enrollment information. The overlap indicates that most carriers employ multiple methods, including some that still use paper and spreadsheets.
  • Digital enrollment presents a sizable opportunity: 32% of carriers do not offer the ability to digitally manage enrollment and change events.

To read the full report, please visit: https://get.ideonapi.com/ideon-limra-2023-report

About Ideon

Ideon is the way health insurance carriers and employee benefits providers connect with technology partners to deliver seamless consumer experiences at every stage of the member journey. Ideon is not the websites or apps one uses to choose a plan or find a doctor. It is the infrastructure, the ‘pipes,’ that simplify the complex exchange of quoting, enrollment, and eligibility data between carriers and the technology partners so that they can, in turn, deliver health and employee benefits to hundreds of millions of Americans everyday. Ideon’s APIs transmit billions of data points between InsurTechs and insurance carriers, powering an amazing benefits experience for all. Faster. Better. Awesomely. To learn more, please visit: www.ideonapi.com.

About LIMRA

Serving the industry since 1916, LIMRA offers industry knowledge, insights, connections, and solutions to help more than 700 financial services member organizations navigate change with confidence. Visit LIMRA at www.limra.com.

How BenAdmin Platforms Setup Carrier Connections in 5 Days

Posted on by Ideon

In the competitive world of benefits administration, setting up carrier connections can be an operational nightmare. What if you had a strategic guide to a better process?

This infographic is a gameboard for a BenAdmin’s operational life. Read it, play along, and compare two pathways side-by-side:

  • Navigate the EDI path: This industry standard typically takes an 8-12 week journey filled with building and testing files, errors, and constant communication with carriers.
  • Take a shortcut and win with API-powered connectivity: This alternate route reduces connection setup to around five days, optimizing your operational efficiency.

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How technology partnerships improve member experience and the bottom line

Posted on by Ideon

Watch the Webinar
On Demand

Today’s leading carriers leverage an expansive (and growing) benefits technology ecosystem. But choosing and integrating with the right partners can be challenging.

In this webinar, Ideon hosts executives from Prudential, PlanSource, and Brella to discuss how carriers successfully develop robust 3rd-party partnership strategies to meet members’ needs and increase revenue.

Discussion points include:

  • Balancing in-house development with external technology partnerships
  • Meeting members where they are (the case for carrier-BenTech partnerships)
  • Industry-leading examples of successful carrier-BenTech partnerships
  • Key challenges in choosing the right partners, and integrating with external systems

 

 

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An API Road Map for Insurance Carriers

Posted on by Ideon

More and more carriers are adopting APIs to support fast, accurate data exchange with benefits administration platforms.

Why? Because API-powered enrollment and eligibility experiences are quickly becoming key carrier advantages.

But carriers focused on API development need a proven road map to follow, because the sequence is as critical as the API functionality.

 

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Introducing the Ideon Dashboard for real-time visibility of enrollment data

Posted on by Ideon

At Ideon, we’re dedicated to facilitating seamless enrollments and data exchange for our carrier and benefits platform customers. That means not only maintaining the fast, accurate, and scalable connections they expect, but also providing greater transparency and visibility—qualities that have been lacking in our industry.

That’s why we’re excited to introduce a major enhancement to our product suite: the Ideon Dashboard, a powerful new interface that compliments our existing API endpoints. With enhanced monitoring of group implementation statuses and the ability to submit, track, and resolve issues, this dashboard brings unparalleled visibility, efficiency, and collaboration to Ideon’s enrollment customers.

The dashboard enables effective three-way collaboration between carriers, benefits platforms, and Ideon, allowing for the swift resolution of issues when they arise. It eliminates the clutter of email threads and ensures no issues are overlooked, all in a centralized, user-friendly tool that keeps all parties in the loop.

Let’s take a closer look at some of the key features.

Video Player

 

Improved Visibility with the Enrollment Tasks Manager

Historically, setting up and managing group enrollments required numerous steps and lots of back-and-forth communication between carriers and benefits platforms. Ideon’s dashboard changes this equation. Carriers and platforms can now access real-time updates on the status of enrollment data that’s been loaded into Ideon’s system. This added visibility minimizes confusion and prevents potential delays in member enrollment.

At a glance, customers can get an immediate overview of their data across all groups, including details such as carrier-specific identifiers and coverage start and end dates. For each coverage period, they can monitor the status and owner of all completed and upcoming setup tasks. 

Tasks can be assigned to specific users from the platform, Ideon, or the carrier, ensuring there’s alignment on next steps and responsibilities. Additionally, comments and attachments can be added to each task, providing necessary context and encouraging collaboration. This not only eliminates lengthy email exchanges but expedites the process of getting groups live.

Through the transparency and visibility provided by the Enrollment Tasks Manager, Ideon customers will always be informed about the status of their groups. They’ll have accurate and up-to-date information to share with members, brokers, and HR teams, ensuring a better enrollment experience with clear timelines and expectations.

Efficient Issue Resolution with the Customer Ticketing System

As carriers and benefits platforms’ operational teams know all too well, issues are bound to happen in our industry, whether it’s discrepant group information, a member inquiry, or another pressing matter.

The Ideon Dashboard offers streamlined issue resolution with its intuitive Customer Ticketing System. It centralizes communication and collaboration, allowing customers to easily submit, track, and resolve their questions, concerns, and escalations. With everything in one place, scattered communication channels like Slack and email are eliminated, and tickets are monitored right alongside the groups they belong to.

For each ticket, customers can provide notes, severity info, and useful attachments or documentation. Comment threads help maintain individualized communication with Ideon, and watcher functionality and email notifications keep customers in-the-know at all times.

Conclusion

The Ideon Dashboard is a powerful addition to Ideon’s enrollment solution, providing greater levels of visibility, efficiency, and collaboration to carriers and platforms—both during group setup and in production.

The new interface is designed to enhance the overall transparency and effectiveness of working with Ideon in a secure, centralized way. But it’s meant to complement, not replace Ideon’s suite of APIs.

All data and functionality offered by the dashboard are also available via Ideon’s existing API endpoints and webhooks. Using these features, our customers can seamlessly integrate status updates and other information into their own tooling and user experience. It’s all part of the unrivaled enrollment experience that Ideon delivers to our customers, their operations teams, and, ultimately, members, employers, and brokers.

Schedule a demo

The Ideon Dashboard has already seen great success among several of our carrier and benefits platform customers, and we can’t wait to show you all of its features. You can watch a short demo above, or reach out to schedule a personalized walkthrough.

 

Five takeaways: Ancillary quoting and the rise of 3rd-party platforms

Posted on by Ideon

Third-party platforms are modernizing how brokers quote voluntary and ancillary benefits, providing an intuitive digital experience to instantly quote and select multiple carriers and lines of coverage.

Sounds amazing, right? Some carriers have embraced this transformation, partnering with tech platforms to ensure their products are distributed to brokers via today’s growing digital ecosystem. But for others, there’s been hesitancy to adopt a 3rd-party strategy.

What factors are leading to these varied outlooks and strategies?

Ideon, an API company that connects carriers and platforms in an easy and scalable way, recently hosted a webinar where a panel of experts explored the evolution of ancillary benefits quoting, the value of 3rd-party partnerships, the digital demands of today’s brokers, and more.

In this blog, we highlight five key takeaways from the event, which featured:
–   Jeremy McLendon — Sr. Vice President at MyHealthily
–   Hannah Thompson — Sr. Manager of Solution Architecture at Beam Benefits
–   Eric Weiford –– Sr. Relationship Manager at Principal Financial Group

A full recording of the webinar is available for download, here.

1. The fear of spreadsheeting is overblown.

One prevalent reluctance among carriers, as they consider offering their products through 3rd-party platforms: Won’t this just lead to my plans being spreadsheeted?

All three panelists agreed — spreadsheeting is happening regardless, and carriers may as well empower it through distribution and great digital experiences.

“Distribution means some change in tradition,” McLendon said. “You’re probably going to be spreadsheeted as it is. So why not win and do it a little faster?”

Beam approaches spreadsheeting from a similar perspective, Thompson said. “Cool, put us on the spreadsheet, especially if that broker is getting a quote through a digital platform where we’re API-connected. Spreadsheeting is unavailable, but the shift over to API quoting is making it a lot more advantageous to carriers like Beam.”

“If brokers and general agents aren’t doing that, they are going to lose that business at some point anyway,” Weiford added. “From a broker’s due diligence, they have to spreadsheet every now and then.”

2. API-powered, fully-underwritten quoting is the new frontier.

APIs allow carriers and platforms to communicate and exchange information in real time. The technology is becoming favored for a range of benefits-related tasks, including enrollment, EOI decisions, claims, and more.

Recently, APIs have made their way to the ancillary quoting space, allowing users of platforms like MyHealthily to generate instant, underwritten quotes based on group-specific criteria. The platform submits group information via a carrier API, and the carrier’s algorithm spits out underwritten quotes, all within seconds.

“We have prioritized platforms that can connect to our APIs,” Thompson said. “Through API quoting integrations, we can ingest census data, which means we can provide custom, underwritten, real-time bindable rates to these platforms.”

3. There’s untapped potential in the small group market.

Digital quoting solutions were historically available only in the large group space, but according to Thompson, that’s beginning to change.

“That ability to deliver real-time, custom, underwritten rates through an API connection—or even via Beam’s own tools for small groups—it’s huge, it’s an underserved market,” Thompson said. “The ability to provide really sharp rates to small groups, in a way that the large group space has benefited from in the past, is a unique opportunity for our industry.”

Like Beam, Principal has designed its digital strategy to win business down market and bring modern technology to small businesses.

“Our bread and butter is in the small group space,” Weiford said. “We’re constantly having conversations with the intermediaries who are adopting these platforms, looking at what is and isn’t working, so we can be agile in trying to make things work for them and for Principal.”

4. Getting started requires gaining organizational alignment.

Custom underwriting is seen by many carrier reps as a differentiator. So, internally, how do carrier executives get buy-in and explain the value of 3rd-party quoting?

“Distribution via 3rd-party platforms is only going to get more eyeballs to your products,” Thompson said. “And that hopefully means more RFP conversions for your team. The way we position it internally, is if a broker is going to go through a platform, we will still associate a rep to those opportunities. Oftentimes, there’s still consultation that needs to happen, from the rep to the broker, to ensure the broker is positioning the product appropriately. We still plug our reps into that flow.”

Carriers, Weiford explained, can alleviate concerns among their reps by including them in conversations about third-party quoting, explaining that it will lead to more opportunities, and showing them detailed reporting. But, it might take time for total organizational buy-in.

“Adoption isn’t always there at first,” Weiford said. “When reps start seeing that they can get additional swings, then it starts getting a little bit more palpable. And then you start showing them reports, ‘hey, here’s 100 new opportunities, go win that business by working with the broker.’ Platforms are not the enemy—you’re working alongside them.”

5. The right strategy and partnerships can mitigate scalability concerns.

For third-party platforms that have ancillary quoting functionality, scaling up can be challenging. Platforms want to offer brokers lots of carriers and products, but doing so requires partnership discussions, relationship management, and technical integrations.

“We tend to be carrier-agnostic, as we want to offer a large marketplace to our brokers,” McLendon said. “But constantly vetting and integrating with carriers can take time away from our development team. We look for the carriers that are willing to adopt early — from our experience, those are the opportunities where we can grow together.”

Ideon, McLendon explained, has helped MyHealthily solve the scalability problem.

“Working with partners like Ideon, a middleware so to speak, is nice because it allows us to integrate with more carriers more quickly. That way we can take on other projects.”

For carriers, the value of working with Ideon is similar. It enables them to integrate with numerous downstream quoting platforms without building direct integrations to each system.

To watch the full webinar recording, click here. To learn more about how Ideon helps carriers and platforms grow in the ancillary quoting space, contact us and we’ll be in touch.

How BenAdmin platforms turn carrier connectivity into a competitive advantage

Posted on by Ideon

Benefits administration platforms’ (BenAdmins) sales, operations, and product teams have a ton to think about these days: 

  • How do we become a year-round benefits destination for employees? 
  • How do we take advantage of the growing popularity of voluntary benefits? 
  • How do we ensure our employee experience is a competitive differentiator?

One topic that is all too often overlooked: carrier connectivity. On one hand, carrier connectivity has become table stakes — after all, doesn’t every BenAdmin platform communicate enrollments and member changes to carriers digitally, mostly via EDI feeds?

Yes, but leading BenAdmins view carrier connectivity as much more than a technical requirement: done correctly, it’s a competitive advantage, enabling scalability, efficient operations, and a fast, accurate enrollment experience.

In the benefits industry, “fast” and “scalable” are rarely used to describe group setup and implementation. We know from speaking with our customers that it takes most BenAdmins 8-12 weeks — and often longer — to build typical BenAdmin-to-carrier EDI feeds. But that’s all changing now. We’ve seen several platforms reduce their group setup timeline to as few as five days. 

The obvious question: How are BenAdmins reducing group setup to days, instead of months?

The answer lies in a new way of managing carrier connections, a strategic decision to partner with companies that specialize in exchanging enrollment data between BenAdmins and carriers. 

The results for BenAdmins speak for themselves:

  • Group setup completed in five days
  • The ability to send enrollment data in a consistent format
  • Elimination of several manual steps that typically prolong EDI implementation

Our new infographic compares, side-by-side, this enhanced carrier connectivity strategy vs. traditional EDI setup. Fast, accurate, and scalable — it’s a new world of connectivity without complexity. Download the infographic to learn more.

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