IHC Announces Scaling Up of Tech-Enabled and Senior Market Initiatives and Significant Expansion of Distribution Channels for Its Pet Insurance

STAMFORD, Conn., Jan. 30, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Independence Holding Company (NYSE: IHC) today announced its ramping up of initiatives for the tech-enabled and senior market and expansion of its pet insurance distribution channels.

Roy T. K. Thung, Chief Executive Officer of IHC, commented, “As we enter a new decade, we would like to update you as to our focus for 2020 and beyond. In order to maximize our ability to serve consumers seeking pet insurance or supplemental health insurance (whether for seniors or those under age 65), we have reorganized our Specialty Benefits segment into specialty health and pet divisions. The health division is comprised of (i) our traditional distribution through independent agents and national accounts, which we now call Independence Brokerage Group, Inc. (“IBG”) and (ii) our tech-enabled distribution through IHC Specialty Benefits, Inc., our lead generation domains (www.healthinsurance.org, www.medicareresources.org, and www.petplace.com), our investment in a lead generation company, and our transactional websites.  The pet division is comprised of  PetPartners, Inc. (“PetPartners”),  www.petplace.com,  www.mypetinsurance.com, and our independent distribution channels.  Independence American Insurance Company (“IAIC”), a wholly owned subsidiary of IHC, takes the risk on the pet insurance and many of the specialty health products sold by these divisions, but our agencies also sell life and health products from other insurance companies for which they earn commissions.  Our proprietary platforms are designed to support multiple carriers and products, and we are recognized by the industry for our speed to market with innovative new products.

Specialty Health Division.  During the past two years, we have successfully invested both our capital and efforts in improving our overall infrastructure, lead generation capabilities, sales automation platforms, and presence in the Direct-to-Consumer (“D2C”) space.  These efforts have paid off, especially as it relates to our entry into the senior market arena. The following are the highlights of some of our recent accomplishments and our plan for 2020 and beyond:

• We successfully inaugurated our marketing of senior products during the 2020 Annual Enrollment Period (“AEP”) through the sale of Medicare Advantage and Medicare Supplement from which we earned commission income.  While our call center launched with a small number of agents, we now have 30 licensed call center agents selling senior products, and we plan to scale up to at least 150 licensed agents by the 2021 AEP.  We intend to continue to accelerate this growth in future years as the demand for these products is clear.  This is a very large market with 60 million Medicare eligible beneficiaries today, and an estimated 81 million by 2030, as 10,000 per day turn age 65.¹  Today, we are primarily selling senior products from other carriers, but in the second quarter of this year IAIC intends to launch its own Medicare Supplement product as well as dental, vision and hospital indemnity designed for the senior market.  We will also be looking to import other products to our platforms, including final expense and short-term care. One of our advantages is that we serve both the senior and non-senior markets.  In fact, our Extend Short-Term Medical product (which provides up to 36 months of coverage in many states) is a valuable gap-filler for people who are approaching age 65 by bridging the gap until they are eligible for Medicare. We are well positioned to serve these consumers as they transition to the senior market.