Bupa to save 5000 kg of plastic per year going digital

Bupa will cease providing plastic membership cards to its members and will instead shift to digital memberships in a bid to save up to 5000 kg of plastic annually.

Last year Bupa provided over 1 million plastic cards to its members. The health insurer hopes that the move to digital membership will help mitigate climate change and support the effort to rid plastics from the environment.

Bupa Director of Customer Experience Sally Damiani said the move to digital membership was made in response to customer feedback and to make it easier for customers to claim health expenses on the spot.

“Many of our customers told us they didn’t want to carry a plastic card,” 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 digital cards as soon as they become members and [this] 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 more than 5000 kg of plastic each year.

“Whilst in the scheme of things 5000 kg is not a significant contribution on the global scheme, every bit helps and customers get better service as a result,” she continued.

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.

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/Jacob Lund