Nationwide Agent Authority: Health Care Research Fact Sheet

Nationwide’s Agent Authority research uncovered three key themes for health care business owners and the commercial agents who serve them:

  1. COVID-19 negatively impacted two-thirds of health care business owners, but they feel optimistic in a near-term economic recovery
  2. Business owners have myriad concerns about their business, employees/volunteers and patients/community members
  3. Health care business owners are paying more attention to their insurance policies and feel there’s a white space for specialized insurance agents

COVID-19 IMPACTS:

  • 66% of health care owners were negatively impacted by the pandemic, led by adverse effects to their:
    • Total cost of operations (25%)
    • Access to necessary supplies (23%)
    • Total revenue (21%)
  • 1-in-5 health care business owners were not prepared for greater demands from clients due to the pandemic, lacked financial plans, and technology for social distancing.
    • 28% didn’t have a financial plan in place to account for a potential recession
    • 26% lacked proper technology to accommodate social distancing among employees, patients and community members
    • 25% didn’t have a contingency plan in place to maintain operations through economic uncertainty/shutdowns
    • 25% were not prepared with the financial support needed to navigate COVID-19’s impacts

BUSINESS AND EMPLOYEE CONCERNS:

  • Concerns about their business:
    • Concerns about their organization’s reputation (75%)
    • Laxed safety protocols due to labor shortages (74%)
    • Cybersecurity vulnerabilities (80%)
      • 65% have been victim to a cyberattack
  • Concerns about their employees:
    • Safety of employees while driving company vehicles (81%)
    • The mental health of employees or volunteers (76%)
    • Workers cutting corners to save on time (73%)

OPTIMISM DESPITE STRUGGLES:

  • Health care business owners are optimistic about the economy and their business in the next 6 to 12 months
    • 6-month view
    • 59% believe the economy will be somewhat or much better
    • 73% believe their company’s revenue will be somewhat or much better
  • 12-month view
    • 65% believe the economy will be somewhat or much better
    • 82% believe their company’s revenue will be somewhat or much better

BUSINESS ADAPTATIONS:

  • 81% of business owners say their organization changed its operations to be more efficient as a result of COVID-19
  • 88% say their business has had to adopt new strategies to maintain operations due to COVID-19
  • 78% considered changing their insurance company in the last 12 months
  • 76% changed at least one of their organization’s insurance policies in the last 12 months

OWNERS TRUST THEIR AGENTS BUT FEEL THERE’S A NEED FOR MORE SPECIALIZATION:

  • Roughly half of business owners took actions to review and better understand their organization’s insurance coverage in the past 12 months:
    • Reviewed one or more of my insurance policies for my organization (51%)
    • Gained a better understanding of what my insurance policy covers (47%)
    • Worked with my insurance agent/carrier to help protect my company’s assets (46%)
  • 85% of business owners report they trust their agent’s guidance and say their agent regularly checks in to make sure their policy fits their needs
  • 87% prefer to work with an insurance agent with specialized knowledge, education and training in their specific industry
  • 88% feel there’s a need for more insurance agents that have vast knowledge of their industry to meet their customized needs

TECHNOLOGY INVESTMENTS:

  • 90% of health care business owners invested in technology within the past year to meet clients’ changing needs, and 89% invested in technology to keep the organization going.
  • Business owners have relied more on the following technology since COVID-19:
    • Wearables (80%)
    • Internet of Things (79%)
    • Telemedicine or teletherapy (78%)
    • Vehicle telematics (77%)

MENTAL HEALTH:

  • A quarter or more of business owners say mental health issues and usage of opioids or medical marijuana have increased among patients or community members in the past 12 months
  • 31% of business owners believe mental health issues among employees or volunteers have increased in the past 12 months
  • 58% of business owners say their organization offers mental health workshops that focus on mental and physical health and 65% offer access to online mental health providers or clinics
    • Still, 8-in-10 believe their organization can do better at addressing the overall well-being of its employees/volunteers and patients/community members

 

Methodology
Nationwide commissioned Edelman Data & Intelligence to conduct a 20-minute quantitative online survey among a sample of 200 mid-market health care business owners between January 5 –13, 2021. For the purposes of this survey, middle market business owner was defined as anyone who self-reported as being a sole or part owner of a company with either 25-500 employees or $10M-$500M in revenue or 20+ fleet vehicles. As a member of CASRO in good standing, Edelman Data & Intelligence conducts all research in accordance with Market Research Standards and Guidelines.