US consumers prefer healthcare info by mail, says PB study
More than eight out of 10 US consumers still prefer to receive information from health insurance companies through the physical mail, according to a new survey from mail company Pitney Bowes. The Connecticut-based firm has published a white paper in which a poll of 1,018 US residents conducted in May 2012 found 46% prefer communications from their health insurance providers as traditional letters.
A further 38% of respondents preferred to have health insurance companies send information through the physical mail and offer access to information online.
Pitney Bowes said the percentage of respondents of all age groups who preferred Internet-only communications was “still very small”.
The age group most preferring Internet-only communications was the 25-34 year-olds, 22% of whom said they preferred online access only. Curiously the 18-24 group stated the strongest preference for physical mail only, with 52% of them preferring the physical communications channel.
Pitney Bowes said anecdotal evidence for the strong preference for physical mail suggested that some US consumers see privacy concerns in Internet communications.
Others are sticking to established record-keeping habits dependent on hardcopy versions of health insurance communications, the company suggested.
The situation was different for US consumers contacting their health insurance providers, in which case 78% prefer dealing by phone, 17% by email and 10% by live chat through a website – with only 7% of people contacting their health insurance provider via the physical mail.
Commenting on the results of the survey, Pitney Bowes said it was clear that physical mail still rules within US healthcare outbound communications, but there was also a strong need for healthcare providers to offer multi-channel communications.
Christoph Stehmann, the president of Pitney Bowes Document Messaging Technologies, said: “To be successful, health insurance providers need to understand their customer base, make sure messages are clear in statements and bills, and use multi-channel communications to meet the preferences of all age groups.”
