Anthem, Inc. - Best New Collaboration Solution

Company: Anthem, Inc.
Entry Submitted By: Ascendum Solutions
Company Description: Ascendum is a MBE-certified global technology firm dedicated to delivering pioneering ideas and solutions that enrich our clients’ business operations and customer experiences. Our clients come to us for new ideas and boundary-pushing solutions. From conversational AI to intuitive interfaces,, Ascendum’s creative team of tech engineers, designers, and developers accelerate digital transformation.
Nomination Category: New Product & Service Awards Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Collaboration Solution – New

Nomination Title: Anthem Broker Plus Mobile Application

The Anthem Broker Plus Mobile App was launched on July 24, 2020.

Developed by Ascendum Solutions, The Anthem Broker Plus mobile application is a new digital mobile channel for Anthem Insurance Brokers. The app helps brokers to stay connected to their clients and manage business on-the-go.

The app enriches the current sales experience, allowing easy client management capabilities, timely notifications and alerts, a pipeline view of sales performance, commissions earned, and more.

Anthem insurance brokers needed more transparency and communication while in the field. 90% of their brokers catered to small business groups and had a 25% churn (or loss of business) annually. The goals of the new Anthem Broker Plus app was to improve retention and new business acquisition. Anthem brokers were eager for a mobile experience that would provide them with the real-time analytics an information they needed and improved communication between Anthem, the brokers, and their customers.

Data access and sharing was a huge problem for the brokers. They didn’t have any ability to download reports from the broker portal, renew data was not offered proactively, and product announcements were handled “old school” through business partners instead of emails and texts. The brokers also had no visibility into commissions they were earning.

As a result, quotes were delayed, helplines didn’t work, and data sharing was nonexistent. They also didn’t have access to real-time pricing for instant quotes and price comparisons or visibility into when plans were up for renewal.

Anthem is on a continued mission to make it easier for their independent brokers to do business with them through technology improvements. The new Broker Plus app provides Anthem brokers with easy access to track applications, the added flexibility of delegate access for agencies, timely notifications and alerts in Anthem's message center, and offers a pipeline view of new sales and commissions earned — all from the convenience of their phones.

The app is available through all app stores. Key features include:
-Secure Biometrics Login
-Intuitive Home Screen with an application summary card and finance snapshots
-Application status
-Application details
-Commissions visibility and comparisons
-Application dashboard
-Application search
-Application status
-Message center
-Application activity/status

Outline the market performance, critical reception, and customer satisfaction with the product or service to date. State monetary or unit sales figures to date, if possible, and how they compare to expectations or past performance. Provide links to laudatory product or service reviews. Include some customer testimonials, if applicable (up to 350 words):

The Anthem Broker Plus mobile application is a new digital mobile channel for Anthem Insurance Brokers. The app helps brokers to stay connected to their clients and manage business on-the-go. The app enriches the current sales experience, allowing easy client management capabilities, timely notifications and alerts, a pipeline view of sales performance, commissions earned, and more. Current app capabilitiesinclude: secure biometric login, a robust home page, an application dashboard, push notifications, real-time view of application status and progress, commissions summary, activities,and a message center for instant information.

To help initially launch the mobile app to more than 5,000 Anthem brokers, for every app download, Anthem provided 80 meals to families in need through the Feeding America network of food banks. Feeding America is the largest domestic hunger-relief organization in the country.

Since its launch in July, the Anthem Broker Plus app has had more than 4,000 downloads by Anthem brokers. Survey feedback from brokers has been overwhelmingly positive and 85% of brokers using the app said it is greatly improving their productivity.

Anthem reports that account churn in the small business sector in Q4 2020 dropped 8% to 17% and they expect those numbers to get better as new features and functionality are added. Ascendum continues development on applications that will integrate with the Anthem Broker Plus app and improve collaboration capabilities.

Reference any attachments of supporting materials throughout this nomination and how they provide evidence of the claims you have made in this nomination (up to 250 words):

Attached is the official Anthem Broker Plus App brochure also available online here: https://www.anthem.com/docs/public/inline/anthem_producer_toolbox_app_flyerv2.pdf
The Anthem Broker Plus app in the Apple App Store Preview is available here: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/broker-plus/id1482407536

An announcement from one of Anthem's Brokers: https://ga.beerepurves.com/bp-news/anthems-new-broker-plus-mobile-app-helps-you-help-others-1595607614835.html#sthash.p1GqT9pq.dpbs