Benefytt keeps an aging population covered with Adobe Acrobat Sign

Benefytt helps people find the right Medicare and life insurance plans for them and makes it easy to enroll. Its customers are among the fastest-growing demographic in the U.S. — and a moving target in terms of technology.

“People who are 65 today didn’t grow up with the internet, so their digital skills vary. In 10 years, however, 65-year-olds will have spent most of their adult lives around digital technology,” says Travis Conley, CTO at Benefytt. “We have to keep things simple for people who aren’t comfortable with technology today, while getting ready to serve tech-savvy customers tomorrow.”

That’s a challenge Benefytt doesn’t shy away from. It’s a relatively young, digital-first company that has the agility to outpace its more established competitors in the insurance industry. One important way it has set itself apart is through a paperless enrollment process. In fact, Benefytt’s customer interactions are 90% digital — and the company makes sure the technology is simple enough for anyone to master.

“Benefytt has used Adobe Acrobat Sign for years to provide customers with e-signature capabilities, making it easy for people to sign up for health insurance coverage without all the paperwork,” says Conley. “Our business model wouldn’t be possible without it.”

Simple, highly secure health insurance enrollment

Benefytt adds e-signatures to its enrollment forms and disclaimers using Acrobat Sign APIs. The signing experience – on a desktop, tablet, or smartphone – is easy and intuitive to use, even for people not familiar with the technology.

But it’s not just about efficiency and usability. Benefytt is serious about protecting customers, and Adobe provides the security and authentication to safeguard their privacy.

“Security and technology are the core focus for the whole company. We handle a lot of personal data and private health records – and our customers rely on us to help protect that data,” says Conley. “The only way we can continue to earn their trust is to show we do everything we can to safeguard their data. Adobe Acrobat Sign helps us achieve that.”

Almost paperless in an industry known for paperwork

Over the past year, Benefytt has processed more than 350,000 documents with Acrobat Sign, and that number continues to grow. Even salespeople who make in-person visits are starting to carry mobile tablets to help customers sign electronically.

In addition, the rest of the company has started to switch to Acrobat Sign — on its way to becoming a truly paperless business. That’s important, especially amidst a pandemic.

For example, by the time Medicare open enrollment starts near the end of 2020, HR will have used Acrobat Sign to onboard up to 400 new employees. The hiring rush is a key part of Benefytt’s new business strategy, which involves moving from an outsourced sales model to direct-to-consumer Medicare sales. Using e-signatures, the HR team can handle the immense volume of employment documents remotely — as the COVID-19 pandemic keeps people away from the office. And with full audit trails, the team can make sure it’s conducting sensitive hiring practices by the book.

In addition, while meeting remotely during the pandemic, Benefytt’s board of directors began using Acrobat Sign to distribute sensitive documents electronically. By signing off on materials such as meeting minutes and financial reports, the board can make sure its activities are properly tracked, in compliance with corporate governance rules.

In an industry known for paperwork, digital document workflows and e-signatures give Benefytt an advantage.

“Benefytt is relatively young and digital-first in everything we do,” says Conley. “It’s a huge benefit for us when it comes to agility and profitability. But we can’t slow down — we’ll either be successful in the digital space or we won’t be around for very long.”