Manulife Financial wanted to develop a branded utility to increase brand awareness in its travel insurance category.

Insight

Manulife’s data showed that a large percentage of purchases made through their 1-800-COVER ME® phone number were for last-minute emergency travel insurance. Moreover, our review of Manulife’s website analytics revealed that significant traffic to the CoverMe.com website was coming from mobile devices—and that number was growing exponentially.

Delvinia also reviewed trends in the travel industry. One key trend was the use of mobile and social pre, during and after a vacation or business trip. Preparation for a trip and sharing photos where two key insights we draw out of our research.

Strategy

Delvinia recommended a mobile strategy to enable consumers to purchase travel insurance at the last minute and while they are on-the-go. The key benefit here would be convenience. In addition, Delvinia recommended the development of a mobile app that would deliver value through utility.

Action

With this framework, Delvinia designed and developed the CoverMe™ Travel mobile site and CoverMe™ Packing App.

The new CoverMe™ Travel mobile site allows customers to purchase the newly created CoverMe Travel Single Trip Emergency Medical plan at a daily flat rate, directly from their smartphones. Delvinia designed the mobile site, which is accessible by BlackBerry, iPhone and Android users. Users are guided through the purchase process in a limited number of steps, enabling them to buy insurance in minutes – and from anywhere.

The CoverMe™ Packing App, available for the iPhone, is designed to help travelers with the process of planning and packing for their trips. Users can download the free app to create customized travel packing lists from categories like Important Documents, Clothing, Toiletries, and most importantly Travel Insurance.

In 2012, the Delvinia team updated the app to extend the user experience for the entire trip. The updates include the addition of a Travel Journal that allows users to check-in to locations, search for landmarks and bookmark where they want to go. Users can also create personal journal entries and share them on Facebook. With the new features, the app provides users with a one-stop utility where they can purchase travel insurance, create a packing list, and then capture their memories on the trip and share them socially at that very moment.

The CoverMe Packing App can be downloaded for free from the iTunes Store.

Results

Manulife’s mobile site and app provide additional valuable service for potential and existing customers and reinforces the message that CoverMe™ has its customers covered. The mobile app has thousands of users and the mobile website had thousands of unique visitors in the first month alone. The app is one of the top 3 apps in the travel category. To visit Manulife Financial’s new CoverMe™ Travel mobile site, go to m.coverme.com.

Recognition

The coverme.com website has received the following awards and recognition:

• Recognized with an Outstanding Mobile Application award in the annual MobileWebAward Competition, produced by the Web Marketing Association
• Winner of two Silver Awards of Distinction in the Communicator Awards competition, including honours in the Mobile Apps Business category and the Mobile Apps Travel category
• Winner of a Bronze Stevie Award in the International Business Awards
• Winner of a Silver Award in the Davey Awards