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Anuvu connects and entertains passengers by providing in-flight and on-ship internet access, movies, TV shows, games, and much more. The multi-national tech firm has approximately 450 full-time employees working across the United States.
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The Challenge
Gain a competitive edge with comprehensive health benefits and prevent double-digit premium increases
Anuvu prides itself on offering a robust benefits package and pays 80% of the healthcare premiums for employees and their families. But the ongoing increasing claims put the lucrative contribution at risk. “High claims were driving a 20% increase on our Cigna group plans and impacting our entire employee population and the bottom line at Anuvu,” says Misty Lundstrom, Sr. Director Global Total Rewards & Talent Acquisition at Anuvu. Moving forward, Lundstrom knew that Anuvu would need to change its contribution strategy or its plan designs, but she wasn’t willing to compromise on either.
“We know that watching where we spend our money matters, but we also know that we must be competitive,” she explains. “We needed an affordable benefits solution that would keep our current employees happy and attract new talent by differentiating ourselves from the competition.”
The Solution
Empower employees to choose the best plan for their unique needs and eliminate risk to stabilize costs
SureCo had the solution Lundstrom was looking for: an Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangement (ICHRA). By moving to an ICHRA, Anuvu could transfer its claims risk (including those of its high utilizers) to the much larger individual market to stabilize costs. On top of that, employees were no longer tied to the four Cigna plan offerings — they were free to choose any plan from any carrier in their area.
The approach appealed to Lundstrom on multiple fronts. Beyond cost savings, an ICHRA provided a way for Anuvu to meet employees where they are and get benefits suited to their unique needs. “I saw a disparity in which benefits employees could afford to take advantage of and was determined to close that gap,” Lundstrom says. “Some people, for example, were getting $20,000 worth of a medical benefit every year from us, whereas other individuals don’t need to use their health insurance at all and were paying high premiums for the plans we offered. I wanted a way to level the playing field and give those employees something else. Moving to an ICHRA was a big step toward making it happen.”
Lundstrom knew, however, that education around choosing the right plans would be key for ensuring a smooth employee experience. “We have a really high-touch employee population, with long-tenured individuals who were doing the math, comparing premium costs, and had a lot of questions,” she says. “Thanks to SureCo’s empathetic, responsive customer service, these people got true personal assistance that walked them through all the questions they had along the way and helped them find the right plan.”
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The Results
$1M saved in annual premiums, $400k increase in 401(k) contributions
Switching to an ICHRA with SureCo enabled Anuvu to eliminate its claims risk entirely and saved the company more than $1M in annual premiums. As a result, Anuvu decided to reinvest that massive savings into its employees and increased its 401(k) contributions by 25%, equaling about $400,000.
And, ever concerned with employee satisfaction, Anuvu sent out an employee survey shortly after the end of the first open enrollment with SureCo to feel out how happy they were with their new coverage. The result? An 80% employee approval rating. “Some of the strongest feedback we got from our survey is how wonderful employees felt the support from SureCo has been,” Lundstrom says.
Of their 431 eligible employees, 365 enrolled in Anuvu’s ICHRA — a participation rate of 84.7%. And thanks to the flexibility offered by the ICHRA, Anuvu’s employees are enrolled across 140 different plans best suited to their individual needs.
Anuvu took a big step forward in its switch from traditional group plans to an ICHRA, but felt supported by SureCo through the entire process — and is happy they made the change. “SureCo is at the forefront of ICHRAs,” Lundstrom said. “Partnering with them helped futureproof our benefits offerings and put us at the forefront of this new, better way of approaching health coverage. It was the right move for Anuvu based on the situation at hand, it’s the right move for employers and employees, and because of SureCo’s support, we’d do it all over again.”
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