Platforms like Amazon and Zillow proved that consumers can compare prices and the quality of almost anything with a click of a mouse. But when it comes to something as impactful as employee benefits, this hasn’t been the case — until now.
Benefits brokerage Nava has launched its free
“Historically, there hasn’t been a place for you to research benefits on your own with the confidence that the data you’re looking at is complete and helpful,” says Weber. “HR folks would have to rely on a broker, and they never know if they are getting the complete version of the story.”
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For Weber, this search engine is crucial to bringing transparency to the healthcare and benefits industry, which is why anyone can use it without a special login or fee. Any user can type a specific benefit into the search bar or search by category, or search for benefits based on their location, medical plan type and number of employees to see the most viable options. If the user does log in to the platform, Nava takes notes of their employer’s size, location, funding and industry, informing the user if a particular benefit is common for similar employers.
“We aim to be the easiest place for HR professionals around the country,” says Weber. “We want to democratize what benefits offerings are there, their features, prices and what people’s peers think of them.”
The search engine feature allows users to review each benefit, scoring it out of five stars. Nava even includes how a digital benefit’s app scored on Apple and Google Play. Additionally, every benefit includes the option to book a demo and get pricing. Weber notes that he would like to make the pricing information more transparent in the future, but needs time to capture the nuances in cost.
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“We spoke with benefits vendors, and the reality is, prices will look different for a 200-person company and a 1,000-person company,” he says. “For now, we can work with vendors to offer quotes, and over time make that pricing available in real-time.”
Nava plans to double the number of vendors available in their search engine within the next quarter and include videos of live demos for each product. In the
“We will be the largest online marketplace of benefits vendors,” he says. “Here, vendors can’t spend money to make themselves rank at the top. Instead, vendors will be compared to incumbents like UnitedHealthcare and Delta Dental based on merit.”
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As a benefits brokerage, Nava already provides 100% fee transparency with a performance-based money-back guarantee to all its clients — notably, benefits brokers did not have to disclose their fees, bonuses or commissions until the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021. But a search engine could help Nava put the buying power directly into the hands of employers and HR teams who provide healthcare to over 156 million Americans, according to Kaiser Family Foundation.
“One of the most fundamental things we can do to fix the healthcare marketplace is to make that marketplace accessible and rich in information,” says Weber. “The buyer should be able to find benefits without mediation by a broker, whether it’s Nava or anyone else.”
