- Zipari, a consumer experience platform built specifically for health insurance, announced it raised $22.5 million in Series B funding
Zipari — which is considered the first and only consumer experience platform built specifically for health insurance — announced it has raised $22.5 million in a Series B funding round. Vertical Venture Partners led the financing round. And Health Velocity Capital, Healthworx (the healthcare investment arm of CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield), and Horizon Healthcare Services (New Jersey’s oldest and largest health insurer) also joined the round.
“We’re proud to have completed our Series B round, which will allow us to build on the momentum we’ve experienced over the past five years,” said Mark Nathan, CEO and Founder of Zipari. “Driven by demand for a solution that provides personalized member engagement for health insurance, and for a return on investment that maximizes the value of members using next-best actions to improve health and reduce operational expenses, Zipari now serves 18 health insurance carriers; more than 13 million members using Zipari products.”
Customer experience transformation is considered one of the most critical topics in the boardroom at health insurance companies with its success relying heavily on the seamless integration of customer data from multiple payer systems and the rapid implementation of the latest technology. And Zipari supports these initiatives and empowers payers with the most effective platform for delivering engaging and superior customer experience.
“CareFirst selected Zipari to help the organization transform and improve the healthcare experience for its members,” added Ricardo Johnson, Vice President of Healthworx. “It’s a platform that has already demonstrated success in the health insurance space and this investment fits with the desire to support innovation that improves the healthcare experience for consumers.”
Last year, Zipari launched the CX Engagement Hub. This provides payers with 2 key capabilities, which includes attaching a value to their cross-departmental goals for each member and intelligently orchestrating and prioritizing engagement via a consumer’s preferred communication channel.
“Customer expectations in the health insurance market are changing and we need to be greater advocates for our members,” explained Douglas Blackwell, CIO at Horizon BCBSNJ. “One way we can provide better service to them is by integrating all of our systems, including customer relationship management tools, sales and broker tools, and individual member goals. Zipari provides a platform where health plans can integrate all that data and leverage it across different channels. We are excited about taking control of that data and using Zipari to leverage it to provide our members with high-value next-best actions to improve health care outcomes.”
Over the past year, Zipari also launched its Partner Network — which is aimed at helping health plans accelerate delivery of integrated customer experience and provide a certified portfolio of customer experience solutions. Both the CX Engagement Hub and the Partner Network will allow health plans to gain better insight into health plan member needs, sentiment, and behavior.
“In my experience, the tech startups that sell into specific vertical industries, such as healthcare or health insurance, are better at solving the considerable challenges facing their respective industry. Zipari’s product portfolio streamlines the health plans internal processes, which ultimately frees up resources to enable better, more personalized customer experience and care,” commented David Schwab, Founder and Managing Director at Vertical Venture Partners.
Now Zipari serves over 13 million members through their payer customers. And this round of funding will be used for widening distribution channels, expanding partner integrations, and scaling the development of Zipari’s configurable product lines with focused investments in strategic innovations.
“Too much of healthcare still relies on the telephone when increasingly individuals want to interact digitally. Zipari enables health plans to offer a digital solution to its members, providers, and brokers with a common underlying database that creates a seamless, more cost-effective, and consumer-friendly experience. As investors with a passion for making our healthcare system more consumer-friendly and cost-effective, we are excited to be investing in Zipari’s growth,” commented Saurabh Bhansali, partner at Health Velocity Capital.
