Health Insurers Close Desktop-Mobile Gap as Apps See Major Gains in Digital Experience Study

Corporate Insight's 2025 Health Plan Experience Benchmarks reveal significant mobile improvement as insurers race to meet consumer expectations

NEW YORK, Aug. 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Health insurers accelerated their mobile app investments over the past 12 months, with nearly universal improvements in member experience scores as organizations race to meet consumer expectations shaped by retail and banking apps, according to new research from Corporate Insight (CI).

The 2025 Health Plan Experience Benchmarks, which evaluated 24 leading commercial health plans' desktop and mobile platforms, found that mobile apps are rapidly closing the digital experience gap with desktop websites. The industry average mobile score rose from 57 to 63 points (out of 100), while desktop scores improved from 67 to 70 points—showing mobile's faster pace of advancement.

"Health insurers are finally treating mobile as a primary channel rather than an afterthought," says Lauren Roncevic, senior director of healthcare research at CI. "Plans that don't accelerate their mobile investments today risk significantly falling behind their more digitally mature competitors."

Mobile Innovation Creates Competitive Separation

The mobile gains reflect strategic investments in personalization, PBM integration and AI-powered chat capabilities that members increasingly expect. Almost all insurers improved their mobile app scores year-over-year, with any declines limited to just 2 points. Three categories drove mobile improvements: Profile & Settings (+10 points on average), Prescriptions & Pharmacy (+9 points), and Support (+9 points).

Anthem BCBS leads mobile performance with a score of 79, just one point from CI's "Leading" tier, with first-place finishes in Digital Care Tools and Support. UnitedHealthcare holds second place, while Aetna's 9-point surge tied it with Wellmark for third.

"Aetna's jump shows how quickly organizations can advance when they prioritize mobile," notes Roncevic. "They've significantly strengthened their competitive position in just one year."

Desktop Experience Reaches New Heights

While mobile grabbed headlines, desktop platforms showed steady advancement. The most important Benchmark categories—Claims and Coverage & Health Information—now show only 5- and 2-point differences between desktop and mobile, respectively.

Aetna claimed first place with a score of 85, reaching CI's "Leading" tier with a 7-point improvement. UnitedHealthcare maintained second place (82 points), with CareFirst joining the Leading tier after a 5-point gain.

The desktop benchmarking revealed that leading insurers are focused on Support and Prescriptions & Pharmacy, with each improving by 6 points. This mirrors mobile's focus areas and suggests coordinated investment across channels.

Methodology

Corporate Insight's Health Plan Experience Benchmarks evaluate commercial health plan member experiences through a comprehensive framework consisting of over 240 attributes that cover all aspects of the member digital experience including account management, claims, provider search, prescriptions and support. Importance weightings are derived from consumer research with commercially insured members.

Organizations included in the 2025 Health Plan Experience Benchmark:

• Aetna
• Anthem BCBS
• BCBS of Illinois
• BCBS of Massachusetts
• BCBS of Michigan
• BCBS of South Carolina
• Blue Shield of California
• CareFirst
• Cigna
• EmblemHealth
• Florida Blue
• Harvard Pilgrim
• Highmark BCBS
• Horizon Blue
• Independence Blue Cross
• Kaiser Permanente
• Mass General Brigham Health Plan
• Oscar
• Select Health
• Surest
• Tufts Health Plan
• UnitedHealthcare
• UPMC Health Plan
• Wellmark

About Corporate Insight

Corporate Insight (CI) delivers competitive intelligence, user experience research and consulting services to the nation's leading financial services, insurance and healthcare institutions. As the recognized industry leader in customer experience research for over 30 years, we have been the trusted partner to corporations seeking to improve their digital capabilities and user experience. Our best-in-class research platform and unique approach of analyzing the actual customer experience helps corporations advance their competitive position in the marketplace.

For media inquiries, research samples, or to schedule an analyst interview:
Patrick Flood
646-876-7535
[email protected]

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SOURCE Corporate Insight