Whether for an operation or medical treatment in a hospital, short stays or even day hospitalizations are increasingly becoming the norm. Unfortunately, patients having to revalidate at home are not always able to fully take care of themselves and often cannot rely on a network for much-needed extra assistance. A gap that MLOZ Insurance, the insurer of Onafhankelijke Ziekenfondsen/Mutualités Libres (MLOZ), resolutely intended to fill.

Enhancing the hospitalisation package

As a proactive and innovative health partner, Onafhankelijke Ziekenfondsen/Mutualités Libres continuously optimizes its member services and benefits. MLOZ Insurance, the insurance body within this group, is responsible for the development and management of, among other things, hospitalisation insurance. To increase the appeal and relevancy of their Hospitalia packages for their policyholders they were looking to enrich them with an additional service package. Which is why they approached AXA Partners.

Sandrine Noël, Operational Director, MLOZ Insurance: “We had already seen great references in the market. In addition, a collaboration with AXA Partners would accelerate time-to-market: with their validated insurance modules, their proven assistance solutions and their strong network, the path to an enhanced hospitalisation insurance was more than smooth. AXA Partners acted as a true partner, from concept to implementation, as well as in their after-sales service and consultancy. A decided advantage, because we want to respond proactively and quickly to the expectations of our policyholders.”

By linking our assistance solutions to its product, MLOZ Insurance wants to support its policyholders in their rehabilitation. It developed Hospitalia Assist services to assist them before, during and after hospitalisation, creating a relevant and positive client experience.

Assistance at home – for the whole family

Together with our sector specialist, MLOZ Insurance investigated which assistance solutions it could seamlessly integrate into Hospitalia insurance. The team examined the insurance modules and service packages of AXA Partners and put together a very comprehensive assistance at home – for the patient and for his/her family.

Sandrine Noël: “MLOZ wants to offer its members more than concessions and nice benefits. We want to be a caring partner in their lives. And that means actually assisting our members and their families when and how they need it most – before, during and after hospitalisation.”

Anyone who subscribes to Hospitalia Medium or Plus can choose from several assistance services, in addition to the usual support from the basic package: nursing, cleaning assistance, home delivery of meals and/or medicines. For example, they can opt for psychological care – before, during and after hospitalisation. And/or sign up for family support: a Hospitalia assistant looks after their children, takes them to and from school, or guides them with their homework. Or they can make use of non-urgent medical transport for a follow-up with the doctor. Policyholders who have also taken out the Severe Illness option enjoy the same services if they were to suffer from a serious and long-term illness.

Ready-to-go network

To offer this care at home throughout Belgium, Onafhankelijke Ziekenfondsen/Mutualités Libres relies on the well-oiled network of service providers of AXA Partners. This is ready to be rolled out in no time – in tune to the specific wishes and needs of our client. Whenever a Hospitalia policy holder calls Hospitalia Assist, our carefully selected service provider takes over - on behalf of Hospitalia Assist. They check which services the caller is entitled to, schedule an appointment with a service provider or medical professional in the area, and follow up on the assistance provided.

Sandrine Noël: “We can confidently entrust the service provision for our members to AXA Partners. We know that they provide our members with the same high quality, accessible and humane assistance that we would give them.”

Unique concept in the health insurance world

With the ready-to-use assistance solutions and insurance modules from AXA Partners,Onafhankelijke Ziekenfondsen/Mutualités Libres were able to launch Hospitalia Assist in no time. And thanks to the added value of Hospitalia Assist, subscribing to or switching to Hospitalia Medium or Hospitalia Plus becomes even more attractive to members. After all, they not only offer admitted or convalescing patients with affordable protection against high hospitalisation costs, but also offer valuable pre- and after-care and innovative services for their family. A unique concept in the health insurance world.

About Independent Health Insurance Funds

As the third largest insurance institution in the country, Onafhankelijke Ziekenfondsen/Mutualités Libres coordinates the four independent health insurance funds in Belgium: OZ, Partena OZ, Partenamut et Freie Krankenkasse. MLOZ Insurance is the insurer of the Independent Health Insurance Funds. It develops a wide range of hospital and outpatient insurance services offered by the MLOZ-health insurance funds to their members.