Phillips addresses the unique challenges of women's health. Their digital apps can support women from early pregnancy to postpartum, creating positive brand engagement and increased satisfaction. We sat down with Raymon uit de Bulten, Insurance Solutions Lead within the Mother & Childcare Space and Emily Napier, New Business Lead at Philips to talk about how Philips improves women's health outcomes and how insurers can make a meaningful impact on women's lives. Let’s dive in!

What is women’s health? And why is it important to make a distinction?

Raymon: "Focusing on women's health is essential because it's an area that's been historically overlooked. For too long, medical research has centered on men, treating women as if they're just smaller versions of men—which we now know isn't accurate. Women's health covers a wide spectrum of needs that evolve through different life stages, like pregnancy, conception, and menopause. There are also unique conditions such as PCOS and endometriosis that are often underdiagnosed, causing unnecessary suffering.

Moreover, women are at higher risk for certain diseases like osteoporosis, dementia, and heart disease has been the leading cause of death among women—yet these conditions haven't been researched as thoroughly in women as in men. By addressing these gaps, we can significantly enhance the quality of life for women. This isn't about focusing on a niche; it's about providing better care for half of the world's population."

Why should insurers consider applying women’s health strategies?

Emily: “Women are part of families, communities and economies, which impacts productivity, the cost of care and ultimately, the social care burden. Four in five conditions associated with women’s health are currently going undiagnosed. We see that 60% of maternal mortality is preventable and 15% of women experience anxiety during pregnancy. Postpartum depression affects 15%. Remember, these are the ones that actually seek clinical advice and support. There are still a lot of stigmas attached to and associated with mental health. So this number is likely to be a lot higher. And finally, we know that women spend 25% more of their lives in poor health compared to men.”

How are these data points even possible?

Emily: “One reason why women are facing these challenges is actually because, before 1993, women weren't legally included in clinical trials. That is why historically, a lot of the data is focused on men. We also know that in terms of healthcare funding, only 2% of healthcare companies are focused on women's health. Finally, we see that when women go to their doctor, it's two times more likely that their healthcare conditions are going to be dismissed. And this rises significantly with women of colour as well.”

What can insurers do to make a difference?

Raymon: “Insurers should consider women as their key target audience, as this is actually true! Women make up 90% of the decision-makers when it comes to healthcare, and even 95% when it comes to health insurance. Women are responsible for 80% of health care spending. And they are far more likely to use digital health tools. So they are a target audience that's willing to adopt these tools.

We found that if you provide the right benefits during pregnancy, it has a profound impact on the retention of your customers. In our study, we found that people who got great benefits during pregnancy from their insurer are about 70% more likely to stay with their insurer for the next year. So this is a pivotal life moment to capture an audience that's willing to create a meaningful relationship with you as a brand. 

Emily: “Also, start at the very beginning. Pregnancy is only a short time within a woman’s lifespan. Plus, someone won't inform their insurer they're pregnant until at least 12 weeks. At that point, it’s difficult to implement preventative health care. If an insurer can be there from the first few weeks, they have the unique opportunity to make a difference and start to put preventative steps in place.”

What does Philips offer to help insurers?

Emily: “Our solution Pregnancy+ is the number one downloaded pregnancy app in the world, guiding mothers-to-be through each week of the pregnancy. It includes a dynamic 3D foetus model that grows as the baby grows and develops, and all the information is given to you every week. We have 80% market share in Europe.

We’ve also been working with for example Groupe Mutuel for the last year, and they are pioneers in the women's health space. They have a fantastic women's health accelerator program which has raised more than 180 million in venture capital to date. We also work with public health companies such as the NHS and the White House in the US.

For Groupe Mutuel, the app includes:

• A branded personal experience for members with additional content.
• A premium subscription, which is rich in content and there are video courses available on a variety of topics.
• We created access to many different information resources, and this helps us to free up the insurer's customer care as well.
• Reimbursement pathways and models. So we know that breastfeeding can help with gut and immune system health for the newborn and also for the mum, which can have a positive benefit on costs later on. And so creating reimbursement journeys with breast pumps is really positive.
• And we also give our members discounts off Philips products.”

This is great, but what’s the benefit for insurers?

Raymon: “We help you take care of people’s needs through pregnancy, we help you build an improved brand experience with improved NPS and we help you foster a relationship that is there for life, not just for today.

People who have experienced the benefit of Pregnancy+, give their insurers an amazing rating of 91% when it comes to satisfaction, and 89% want to retain their insurance for the next year. Finally, we see increases of 56 points in NPS for their insurer by using this type of service.”

What is the end goal for Philips?

Raymon: “At Philips, we want to reach the lives of billions over the globe, and a big portion of that is 400 million in underserved communities. Women's health is part of that underserved community. This is why we improve the lives of women and see that as part of the core work that we do.”

Raymon uit de Bulten, Insurance Solutions Lead within the Mother & Childcare Space and Emily Napier, New Business Lead at Philips presenting at ITC DIA Europe Amsterdam 2024.

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