Data analytics on customer friendly insurance products at Universal Healthcare Services in Johannesburg.

Abstract

Data analytics can be used to enhance operations by giving firms information about their consumers, thereby helping maximise profit. The aim of the study was to investigate data analytics on customer friendly insurance products at the Universal Healthcare Services in Johannesburg. This data can be used to ensure that insurance companies are able to put their customers at the centre and focus of the product design process. This can be done by designing products for the customer, through the use of evidence contained in the data about what the customers need. The study was conducted using a non-probability sampling for a quantitative study that had a sample of 80 participants from the product design and data analytics teams, out of which 65 respondents completed the survey. The questionnaire was used to assess the role of data analytics in the design of customer friendly products and also review the challenges UHS face when collecting data for product design. The primary data were analysed using Qlikview, an analytics and data visualisation tools used to assess data in conjunction with Microsoft Excel. Key findings showed that data is regarded important within UHS and its benefit towards product design is well understood. Data security is seen as a significant issue by consumers and professionals alike as the privacy of the consumers has to be always kept in mind. Investment in data infrastructure and increase in allocation of resources to both the product design and data analytics team need serious attention. Top management is required to make performance metrics clear in order to give the employees confidence that the work they do will not be credited to someone else, as this may lead to a loss in rewards to the deserving personnel. The synergy that can be achieved by having the product design and the data analytics teams work together, will go a long way towards increasing performance. Further studies should explore the direct impact of data analytics on other insurance companies. Further studies should explore the relationship of data analytics and how it affects business performance at UHS. Additionally, future studies can also be used to assess how data analytics affect company revenues on a short and long term basis. The limitation of this study was that the research was only restricted to Universal Healthcare Services, as it was not extended to other forms of healthcare. Another limitation to this study was that it only focused on the team that were based in Gauteng as the research did not consider the teams based in other provinces.