Mantis
Health insurance comparison
A Tech Fleet product in partnership with Anthony Ofume & Seun Shedowo
In 2021 only 3% of Nigerians had health insurance
The public is skeptical of the value of insurance. Enabling them to learn about insurance, while comparing prices and benefits, would be a huge step forward.
Mantis seeks to meet this need with an easy to use health insurance comparison tool. One tailored specifically to the challenges posed by the Nigerian market.
Tech Fleet & project goals
Mantis was borne out of an immediate, familial need and expanded to encompass all Nigerians. When trying to find a policy for his mother, Anthony was surprised to find a lack of comparison sites that catered to his market. He didn't want to search for a list of companies and spend all day on the phone asking for quotes.
He brainstormed with his friend, and cyber security professional, Seun. Together they decided to incubate a health insurance comparison site that would be easy to navigate and educational.
Tech Fleet is an online community that connects designers and clients in need. Members apply to and join projects, gaining experience working on design, research, content and development teams.
As a member of the UXD team I worked with co-designers and our UXR team. Together we outlined the core features, product requirements and overall site hierarchy for phase 1 of Mantis.
Stakeholder input
Being residents of Lagos, Anthony and Seun already had good ideas about what Mantis needed to embody.
From these points UXD and UXR distilled the defining aspects of Mantis. It needed to be educational, inspire trust and present readily usable information.
“Should tell the user which clinics they can use [in a given plan] and what the benefits are.”
“You aren’t required to set up an account to search or compare, like Skyscanner or Kayak.”
“We will need to convince the user of the benefits of insurance coverage. Their number one fear is that it’s a waste of money.”
Approachable
Mantis values
Transparent
Educational
Our stakeholders wanted to be sure someone using Mantis could access quote information without a lengthy sign-up process.
There's a fair amount of skepticism regarding the NHIS and the value of health insurance in Nigeria. To win over users Mantis needs to be clear about the cost of plans and what they cover.
Due to the overwhelming lack of enrollment, the average user may not understand the jargon associated with coverage. Our stakeholders and UXR team advised using everyday language throughout the site to define policies, coverage, deductibles and other technical terms.
Designs informed by UXR
To meet our users needs Mantis needs to meet them where they’re at. As stated above initial research determined that Nigerians are skeptical of the value of health insurance.
This means presenting cost, services and benefits in a transparent manner is critical. Here are some quotes which underline their perspective.
”I wouldn’t start.. [if] I can’t continue in the long run, can pay for this month but not next month.”
Monthly and yearly cost presented up front
“Yes, I would say I need [health insurance]. Because I can walk into the hospital today and get medical attention without having to pay...”
Education breaking down the practical benefits of paying for coverage
“Getting your eyes [checked] and going to the dentist are rational things to do.”
Care specific filters to help the user search for exact services
Competitive analysis helped to inform information hierarchy. The primary steps and choices are prioritized. Most of the users time will be spent reviewing and comparing plan details. Cards showing these details are iterated on.
Initial sketches
Preliminary layouts for composition and scale of key elements. Cards, filters and title blocks are the largest pieces.
Mid-fi wireframes
Leading with welcoming and straight forward copy.
Presenting the user with a familiar, high level filter method.
Core elements are composed. Filters, cards and clear language give just the right amount of info.
How to pay, what level of coverage and who's covered is explained.
Detailed plan explanations are a click away via the "Learn More" call to action.
High fidelity details
Plan cards have a cost breakdown and overall enrollee rating
Plan details CTA takes the user to a full description of coverage and benefits
Add to compare CTA highlights plan card and adds selected plans to the comparison cart
We strove to include details that would be meaningful to Nigerians. Small tweaks to a familiar interface, like unique filters and in-depth explainers, meet the user where they're at.
Comparing simplified
Details of every category of coverage can be displayed and compared.
The Show differences CTA spells out differences across the plans. The best plan for each category is called out.
Powerful filters
Above: selected plans are displayed in the comparison cart
Plan filters are based on specific feedback from users
Payment periods can vary with HMO plans in Nigeria. They can range from monthly to 6 months to yearly.
Distance to care can vary greatly outside of metro areas, this can make certain plans a non-starter
Word of mouth and recommendations from peers counter skepticism inherent in the market
Project takeaways
In this first phase of the project we accomplished a great deal. The MVP requirements were laid out and the core values of the product were established. This allowed us to set a tone with our content and specify our approach to the user.
We created a landing page, a sign up flow and method for comparing insurance plans. While designing each we were guided by our core values.
The value of Research can’t be overstated, particularly when you’re trying to reach a demographic on another continent, from a vastly different culture.
We were able to find statistics and information about specific to our market however our designs could have been better informed by a larger interview pool. The logistics of scheduling interviews and finding participants in Nigeria set our UXR teams timeline back. Our work stopped just short of sharing our designs with a testing group for feedback.
In retrospect I would’ve allocated more team resources to aggressively pursuing interviewees and confirming their availability for testing and feedback sessions.