APRIL X, the APRIL Group’s digital hub
Based at APRIL’s headquarters in Lyon, the APRIL X digital hub is where innovation meets customer experience at the Group. Intended to step up our digital transformation, it is a place for experimenting and working together, where the insurance products and solutions of the future are invented.
APRIL X is home to over 200 internal talents, partners and start-ups which work together to conceive solutions intended to improve and facilitate the customer experience for the benefit of our partner distributors and our policyholders.
This effort to improve customer experience was rewarded by a 24 point increase in our NPS over 2 years and by several awards:
• CX Gold Award winner 2020 for our Selfcare and Chatbot strategy;
• Gold Award winner in the Service Innovation category for the Captain Wallet project (direct electronic payment of medical expenses via mobile) at the 2020 Insurance Awards;
• Gold Award winner at the 2021 Insurance Awards in the Service Innovation category for the HealthCare@Work solution which offers businesses and their employees a new, digital tool to take care of their mental health.
• And Bronze Award winner in the Customer Relations Innovation category for the APRIL Reprise scheme to make it easier for policyholders, and the brokers advising them, to terminate loan insurance policies and thereby change provider.
The initiative to create the first digital payment card on the market at the end of 2023 – Easy Pay Card, which enables its policyholders on international mobility to pay for expensive medical expenses without advancing any money – has also enabled APRIL to receive several awards.
Innovations by APRIL
An expert pathway on APRIL ON co-designed with and for our partner brokers
APRIL ON is a digital platform designed to support our partner brokers’ business development. More than just an extranet, it provides them with optimised sales pathways.
In 2021, APRIL ON was developed to include the Expert Pathway, intended for the most production-driven and expert brokers. This new feature is better suited to their way of working, taking a tailored approach to their requirements and daily practices.
The Expert pathway platform was designed and co-developed in close collaboration with our partner brokers at APRIL X. This development towards more agility, reliability and speed has helped re-establish APRIL as the partner of choice for the most committed brokers.
A third-party payment card and a digital payment card available on mobile phones
APRIL was the first insurance operator to enable its customers to access their medical expenses payment card through the Wallet application on their telephone. All policyholders have to do is show it to healthcare professionals or pharmacists to make a contactless transaction. This innovation is also offered to our international policyholders through their Easy Claim application, and to Auto and Decennial Liability Insurance markets for insurance certificates. This innovation was given the gold award in the Service Innovation Category at the 2020 Insurance awards.
In October 2023, APRIL also launched the first digital payment card, the Easy Pay Card, which enables policyholders on international trips to pay for expensive medical expenses without having to pay in advance.
Here are the most recent awards (2023-2024) received by APRIL International for its underwriting process and Easy Pay Card:
• Argus d’Or 2024 (health/personal protection/loan insurance/dependency category) for Easy Pay Card
• Cas d’Or Banque Assurance 2023 for Easy Pay Card with: the Innovation Prize, the Gold Prize for Mobile Offers and the Silver Prize for Innovative New Services
• Best international provider of individual health insurance at the Health & Protection Awards 2023
• 5-star service rating for the 2nd year running in Health & Protection’s 2023 International Private Medical Insurance (IPMI) report
• Trophées de l’Assurance 2023 – Bronze (Distribution Innovation category) for its 100% digital underwriting pathway with medical e-selection in the international health market
Overhauled e-commerce websites to provide a better digital experience
In order to spur on APRIL’s development in direct digital distribution, we launched our brand-new e-commerce website, april.fr, in 2020. A real technical and technological shift, April.fr was developed in a customer-centric way at every stage of the project. All the sales journeys have therefore been optimised in order to offer a smooth, simpler experience focussing particularly on two aspects:
• Optimised search engine referencing: to make it easier for site users and enable them to find the information they need more easily.
• A format which is 100% tailored to mobile use, user-friendly and easy to navigate, as well as fully tailored to online codes and the practices of mobile internet users.
Easy Claim: all the services for our expatriate customers in a single app
Launched at the beginning of 2016, the Easy Claim application enables APRIL International’s expatriate customers to send off their claims for medical expenses in just a few clicks, making procedures and refunds quicker.
Still highly acclaimed by its users (rated 4.3/5 on Google Play and 4.3/5 on the Apple Store), the application offers them a single, electronic portal via mobile to manage their policy and services, and handle refund requests in under 48 hours.
Access to simple healthcare services through telemedicine
APRIL’s latest innovation in terms of connected healthcare is a telemedicine service intended to facilitate and simplify medical procedures related to professional protection insurance and loan insurance.
Developed alongside the start-up BioSerenity, and its Cardiophy Check-up product, this service harnesses the best of telemedicine technology to make it possible to carry out subscription procedures from home in only 30 minutes, whilst complying with health regulations and respecting confidentiality rules. Especially suited to the Covid-19 crisis context, it saves time and improves safety by reducing journeys and waiting times at healthcare professionals. Available for customers in the Paris region since November 2020, it will be extended nationwide in 2021.
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