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Prudential (Newark, N.J.) has placed an emphasis on providing financial wellness education and tools to help consumers better understand life insurance and other financial products. The company is now leveraging its accumulated expertise through a partnership with consumer activation solutions company Welltok (Denver) to provide employers with the integrated well-being approach they desire. Prudential’s financial wellness content, tools and access to its solutions will be delivered within Welltok’s total well-being solution, which will also serve as a platform for distributing Prudential’s products.

Welltok offers its benefits platform for employees and dependents to employer clients who wish to support healthy and productive workforces. The vendor drives action by providing a single destination for employees and dependents to access programs, resources, benefits and incentives designed to be highly relevant to users of the platform. Welltok uses data insights and advanced personalization to help their clients’ employees achieve personal improvement in five key areas: physical, financial, mental, social and purpose.

Solutions and tools provided by Prudential via Welltok—such as those that manage day-to-day finances, setting and achieving financial goals and protecting against key money risks—help drive financial behavior changes that will carry over to employees’ lives as a whole. For those who want additional help, Welltok will connect them to Prudential solutions that can help their financial security.

“Together, Prudential and Welltok see the value of an integrated total well-being solution that focuses both on health and financial wellness. This partnership integrates Prudential’s financial education tools into the Welltok platform, including budgeting and financial wellness assessments, as well as solutions employees can leverage to continue improving their financial standing,” comments Jake Biscoglio, VP, Strategic Growth Initiatives & Partnerships, Prudential. “Many programs focus on only one aspect of wellness, but Welltok has bundled holistic well-being solutions we know are essential to driving behavior change.”

Through the partnership Welltok is able to bring a more robust financial wellness toolkit to its total wellbeing solution than the vendor previously offered, according to April Gill, SVP, Solution Management, Welltok. “Financial wellbeing is a high focus area for our clients and their employees, so we were looking for a partner with deep expertise and the resources to address the most critical aspects of personal finance,” she says.

Employee Access to Prudential’s Products

In addition to richer educational content and tools to help employees on their financial journey, users of the Welltok platform are also able to explore and sign up for specific products including individual life insurance, investment and savings solutions should they determine those products will help them achieve their goals, according to Prudential’s Biscoglio. “However, Prudential also sees immense value in the benefit this provides to the employer, as well,” he notes. “Welltok’s existing and prospective clients will be able to offer financial and total wellness solutions to employees in a turnkey manner—something we know to be a competitive advantage from a recruitment and retention standpoint.

“We see that our tools and content fit well with the platform Welltok has developed to create a very customer-focused and personalized experience,” Biscoglio adds. “It allows us to deliver the right solutions to the right individuals at the right time, improving the relevancy of the information employees receive.”

Providing the right content and tools is essential part of the “unique synergy” Prudential’s partnership with Welltok provides, Biscoglio elaborates. “It builds into Welltok’s strong engagement platform to leverage rewards and incentives as a means to drive true behavior change,” he says. “For example, an employer may provide a monetary incentive for employees to complete Prudential’s Financial Wellness assessment. That assessment will guide them to the steps the employee needs to take to improve their financial wellbeing, and Welltok’s platform issues any necessary nudges to keep them on track and engaged. That’s what’s so great about this partnership—each organization brings its own necessary expertise to make this real and useful for the end user.”

Employers are increasingly recognizing the connection between their employees’ financial and physical health. A third of Americans say their lack of money prevents them from living a healthy lifestyle, according to Stanford Center on Longevity. Sixty-five percent are not prepared for a financial emergency, according to Prudential’s 2017 Financial Wellness Study. Those who experience debt-related stress have more serious health problems, including ulcers, migraines and heart attacks. These connections are exacerbated during times of crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic.

Employees Leverage ‘Timely Content and Tools’

“Welltok has long understood the importance of financial well-being: If people are not financially secure, their mental, physical and social health are negatively impacted. We are excited to be partnering with Prudential to offer best-in-class financial resources that will support a critical need,” comments Bob Fabbio, Welltok’s CEO. “In fact, some of our employer clients are already effectively using Prudential’s timely content and tools to help their employees manage finances during the COVID-19 crisis.”

“We’ve already seen double digit increases in financial resource use since April for one client, proving that employees are actively seeking resources to manage finances and minimize stress related to money issues,” Welltok’s Gill specifies. “Together, we are getting the right tools and resources to the right people to not only support financial wellness, but all aspects of wellbeing that we know are so interdependent and important these days.”

Prudential Group Insurance Leverages Strategic Partnerships to Improve User Experience