Bupa goes digital to save one million plastic cards annually
Health insurer Bupa announced today it will move to digital membership cards, a change that will save the creation of more than one million membership cards and up to 5,000kg of plastic annually.
Last year Bupa provided 1,022,636 plastic cards for members.
Sally Damiani, Director of Customer Experience, said the move to digital cards was made in response to customer feedback and to make it easier for people to claim their health expenses back on the spot.
“Our customers told us they didn’t want to carry a plastic card,” Ms Damiani said.
“They saw what was happening in other parts of their life and they rightly had the expectation that health insurance should be just as easy.
“This now means that customers can get their cards as soon as they become members and is particularly useful for overseas students who don’t like to rely on post.
“In addition to giving members the benefit of online claiming, reducing manual claims and allowing money to be back in the bank account of customers quicker, this move will also save up to 5,000kg of plastic each year.
“Whilst in the scheme of things 5,000kg is not a significant contribution on the global scale, every bit helps and customers get better service as a result,” Ms Damiani said.
The digital card is optional for all Bupa members and it is estimated that more than half of all members will take up the offer. Tap and claim is available now for Android customers.
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