Few people like picking out their benefit plans — or fully understand how to use them — for one simple reason: They are confused by the process.
In fact, a recent study by New York City-based Nayya found that 63% of employees said they don’t understand their benefits, despite the billions of dollars invested in benefits education by companies.
Prudential Financial is aiming to change that.
On Thursday, Prudential announced it has formed a strategic partnership with Nayya, a leading benefits experience platform, to harness artificial intelligence and data science in a way that empowers employees to make better workplace benefits decisions.
Prudential officials said the new partnership will allow Prudential Group Insurance clients to take advantage of Nayya’s benefits decision support tool during open enrollment, which will help their employees better understand their benefit options and make smarter decisions.
Nayya’s platform allows companies to leverage health and financial wellness data to provide real-time, personalized benefits recommendations for their employees, as well as year-round guidance to make the most of their benefits.
Using the tool, employers can engage and communicate with their employees about opportunities throughout the year.
The Nayya platform will give employees updates (perhaps when it’s time for covered preventative care) or provide access to benefits information that may not have been pertinent during open enrollment (perhaps pregnancy or fertility programs).
At a time when health care costs and complexity continue to increase in the U.S., the need for clarity in the process and ease of use throughout the year never has been greater.
Michael Estep, head of product for Prudential Group Insurance, said this partnership will assist in that endeavor.
“Our goal is to help employers better educate and engage their employees during moments that matter,” he said. “We are transforming the enrollment experience by providing simple, yet powerful ways to help employers be the rock their employees can rely on when selecting workplace benefits.”
###
Here’s more of how the partnership will work, according to Estep:
Q: Explain the process of the new platform?
A: Nayya’s intuitive platform walks employees through a series of short questions to better understand their mental, physical and financial needs. From there, it provides a personalized bundle of recommended benefits so employees have confidence that they’re making the right decisions.
Q: What can companies who use this service expect?
A: Industry research shows 63% of employees don’t fully understand their benefits options. Nayya will help employers deliver the full potential of their benefits investment to their employees by increasing benefits satisfaction, comprehension and utilization, while also significantly reducing the amount of questions and confusion surrounding enrollment.
Q: Is it going to dramatically increase insurance options, which can be confusing, too?
A: It does not increase insurance options (as in, offer more products or benefits options), but it serves as a tool that helps employees understand and make smarter choices based on their budget, and personal and family needs.
###
Nayya co-founder and CEO Sina Chehrazi said the company’s partnership with Prudential represents a key milestone in employee empowerment.
“Employers are spending more on benefits than ever before and they want to enable their employees to make informed decisions to maximize their health and financial wellness,” he said.
“Prudential’s leadership is bringing innovation to the benefits experience with scale and pace. It will change the trajectory of our industry and our ecosystem in positive ways.”
