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SWOT Analysis of Anthem: US Health Insurance Leader

Updated on: Mar 8, 2022

We have previously written an article on the SWOT analysis of CVS – A major healthcare solution provider based in the U.S. This time we are back with another blog on the SWOT analysis of Anthem.

Anthem, Inc. is a United States-based health insurance company. It is the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association’s largest for-profit managed health care firm. WellPoint, located in California, and Anthem, based in Indianapolis, both the firms acquired multiple health insurance companies and merged in 2004 to become the corporation. Prior to 2014, the company was known as WellPoint, Inc. and later it became Anthem.

Anthem’s marketing initiatives are another factor that has helped the company grow into the behemoth it is today. As the world goes online, marketing is changing and if you are interested in learning about the latest – check out our Free Masterclass on Digital Marketing by the CEO and Founder of IIDE, Karan Shah.

But, before we begin with the SWOT Analysis of Anthem, let us learn more about Anthem, the company, founding, products, financial status, and competitors.

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About Anthem,

SWOT Analysis of Anthem - Anthem Logo

WellPoint Health Networks Inc. and Anthem, Inc. joined in 2004 to establish the nation’s largest health benefits organization, the corporation was born. At the time of the merger, the parent business went by the name WellPoint, Inc. WellPoint, Inc. changed its name to Anthem, Inc. in December 2014. The Anthem brand is founded on trust, and it’s the name that people recognize as a reliable health care partner through their associated health plans.

The company is known as Anthem Blue Cross in California, where it has about 800,000 clients and is the largest health insurance company. Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield is the insurer in New York State, whereas Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield is the insurer in 10 other states. Around 45.1 million people are medical members of Anthem. The company holds 80% of the medical insurance market in Indiana.

Quick Stats on Anthem
Founder Gail Koziara Boudreaux
Year Founded 2004 as Anthem
Origin Indianapolis, Indiana, United States
No. of Employees 63,500+
Company Type Public
Market Cap US$111.84 Billion (2022)
Annual Revenue US$136.9 Billion (2021)
Net Income/ Profit US$4.57 Billion (2021)

 

Products & Services by Anthem

Most of us will be looking into the quality products and services provided by the company and checking the reviews of the customers; so here is the wide range of insurance, products, and services offered by Anthem;

  • Health Insurance 
  • PPO
  • Customized Health Service
  • Compromise Health Service
  • Network-Based Dental Product
  • Wide & Special Based Products


Competitors of Anthem

Anthem competes on a global level with many other Healthcare Insurance Companies. The top 5 competitors of Anthem are

  • CVS Health
  • UnitedHealth Group
  • Humana
  • Aetna
  • Express Script


Now that we understand the company’s core business, let’s delve into the SWOT analysis of Anthem.


SWOT Analysis of Anthem

A SWOT analysis determines the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of a company. It is a proven management paradigm that allows Anthem to benchmark its business and performance against that of its competitors and the industry as a whole.

This is a great tool for identifying where the business is doing well, where it is failing, developing countermeasures, and determining how the business can grow.

To better understand the SWOT Analysis of Anthem, refer to the infographics image below

SWOT Analysis of Anthem - SWOT Infographics of Anthem

Now first let’s begin with the strengths of the company from the SWOT analysis of Anthem.

Strengths of Anthem

  • Reputation & Brand Name: Anthem is the most well-established firm in its industry. It is the world’s largest insurance company which serves more than 10 states with its main customer base of more than 45 Million in California, Indianapolis and other parts of the United States.
  • Focus on Social Schemes: Anthem Life Insurance has long been a supporter of global health plans typically including medical, dental, behavioural and disability. With a variety of world-class services, it leads the industry in health protection and dental plans.
  • Highly Skilled Workforce: Successful training and learning programmes have resulted in a highly competent workforce. They are not just highly skilled but also driven to achieve greater success.
  • Affordable Insurance: Anthem insurance company is the market leader and serves the people in the United States with insurance that is low in rates but with superior benefits.
  • Financial Position: Anthem has a very strong financial position in the market with consecutive profits over the years along with accumulated profit reserves which can be utilised for future expenditures or marketing activities.
  • High Level of Customer Satisfaction: Anthem has gained the trust of more than a million clients and has a very strong customer relationship management team through which they keep their current customers very satisfied and also enjoy a good brand equity status among potential customers.
  • Strong Supplier Community: It has built a culture among suppliers where the suppliers not only promote the company’s services but also invest in training the consulting team to explain to the client how he/she can extract the maximum benefits out of the insurance services.


Weaknesses of Anthem

Weaknesses are the areas Anthem can work upon. Some of Anthem’s weaknesses are:

  • Research & Development: Anthem has a good share of expenditure on the research and development department but it is spending way less than a few of the players within the industry which have benefitted as a result of their innovative products.
  • Diversity in the Workforce: The local workers contribute to the majority of the workforce at Anthem making it difficult for outsiders to adjust and hence resulting in the loss of talent.
  • Low Market Share: Although the company has a significant presence in the United States, the insurance company is not known to many people due to the company’s low share in the market.
  • Customer Service: Given it is the largest healthcare company it is only natural to have so many customers and in some areas, the company fails to provide customer satisfaction.
  • Delayed Claims: Many states reported the authority of delayed claims payments to policyholders and increasing policy cancellations. 


Opportunities for Anthem
 

Opportunities are uncontrollable external circumstances that a person may be able to take advantage of. These external factors could give the company an advantage in the marketplace. Opportunities for Anthem are:

  • Possibilities in the Online World: Clients’ increasing acceptance of online services will allow Anthem Group to offer innovative services to customers in the Insurance (Life) market.
  • Social Media: Over the years the number of active users on social media channels has increased and with this Anthem can make use of its social media handles to promote its products, interact with customers and even provide after-sale services.

You can also leverage the benefits of social media and other digital marketing channels to your business by simply learning several digital marketing skills from a renowned institute just like IIDE where experts from the digital industry teach the latest and upgraded digital marketing skills through online live and recorded sessions right to you whilst you are seated at your home. 

  • Future of Insurance Company: Global life premium insurance growth is predicted to rebound to 3% with increased risk awareness owing to COVID-19 and global economic recovery set to accelerate the demand for life insurance products. 
  • Future Trends: The next 10 years will see the insurance industry moving from traditional to more customer-centric products. In the post-pandemic era, due to personalized services, the products are given based on information collected from external sources and devices.
  • Shift From Protection To Prevention: There is a general trend toward risk prevention rather than risk mitigation, which indicates that insurance companies should concentrate on risk prevention rather than risk mitigation.


Threats to Anthem

Threats are those factors that have the potential to provide harm to the organisation in any form. The threats of Anthem are as follows:

  • Gig Economy: Most organized companies across the world offer group insurance. Various online-based and reputed companies like Fiverr, Amazon Mechanical Turk, and others have entered the ‘freelancer’ population who work without any formal company allegiance. This has resulted in an enormous loss for the insurance companies.
  • Competition: Since insurance was privatized, Anthem has lost its lustre and now confronts intense competition from private insurance businesses that have given the industry a new lease on life.
  • Changes in Government: Because fiscal and monetary factors vary with each new government, tactics must be altered correspondingly. This results in a slew of issues.


This ends our elaborated SWOT analysis of Anthem. Let us conclude our learning below.

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To Conclude

Anthem is a well-known insurance brand with a significant global presence. In the SWOT analysis of Anthem, we observed that the company is heavily reliant and enjoys strong brand recognition and trust with its customers. It has a strong distribution network and has reached across all the markets it serves, but suffers from an increasing number of suppliers in the same space and better R&D efforts by its competitors.

Also, one point not to miss out on is that Anthem is in line with its marketing effort. It has created a customer base for itself by tapping into the digital era and creating a social media presence on several platforms. If you are interested in learning digital marketing, don’t forget to check out IIDE’s 3 Month Advanced Digital Marketing Course.

We hope this blog on the SWOT Analysis of Anthem has given you a good insight into the company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. 

If you enjoy in-depth company research just like the SWOT analysis of Anthem, check out our IIDE Knowledge portal for more fascinating case studies.

Thank you for taking the time to read this, and do share your thoughts on this case study of the SWOT analysis of Anthem in the comments section below.

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Author's Note:

My name is Aditya Shastri and I have written this case study with the help of my students from IIDE's online digital marketing courses in India.

Practical assignments, case studies & simulations helped the students from this course present this analysis.

Building on this practical approach, we are now introducing a new dimension for our online digital marketing course learners - the Campus Immersion Experience.

If you found this case study helpful, please feel free to leave a comment below.

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Aditya Shastri

Lead Trainer & Head of Learning & Development at IIDE

Leads the Learning & Development segment at IIDE. He is a Content Marketing Expert and has trained 6000+ students and working professionals on various topics of Digital Marketing. He has been a guest speaker at prominent colleges in India including IIMs......[Read full bio]

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