Does Hema’s positioning help in the sale of health insurance?

HEMA offers the most diverse household items and stands for simplicity, low prices, solid to good quality, and a touch of ‘trendy’ design. The success domestically, and nowadays even abroad, is mainly attributed to HEMA’s dedication and focus on this true positioning. Recently, HEMA has also ventured into a sector unfamiliar to them, health insurance. They advertise a premium of €69 per month and additionally entice insured customers with a 10% discount on almost the entire HEMA range in stores. Could this become a success, and does it actually align with their successful positioning?

Hema Podcast

Recently, some time after writing this article, we recorded a podcast about HEMA’s recent success. Our conclusion in this article turned out to be the future; now under new ownership, HEMA is fortunately doing better:

In the field of health insurance, there is still a feeling that consumers actually have very little choice. Despite the promised market competition, prices from different providers don’t really differ. Moreover, the difference mainly lies in the fine print. Whether or not to insure dental care, and for what amount per year. Deductible €100 more or less. It remains fiddling at the margins. Therefore, there is certainly room for a fresh new provider.

Positioning HEMA and Health Insurance

It seems like a fantastic combination, HEMA and health insurance. HEMA is known for both its simplicity and aversion to fine print, and the entry premium of €69 is clearly distinctive since other providers charge about €100. Are you already getting a eureka feeling? Unfortunately, after inspecting the fine print, we must quickly conclude that there is little that distinguishes HEMA’s insurance. The deductible is set at €850 per year, and you don’t have emergency care abroad; if you adjust this, you end up paying as much as with other providers. Again, fiddling at the margins, with the added risk that your premium might increase in the future due to your purchases of the famous (and fatty) HEMA sausage!

So we are disappointed by the Hollandsche Eenheidsprijzen Maatschappij Amsterdam. The newest expansion in the product range breaks, upon closer inspection, with the positioning that makes the company known and loved and only superficially meets the brand promise. We see this as two cardinal sins: breaking with the positioning and ‘lying’ to your customers. Our expectation is therefore that the HEMA insurance will not cause ripples in the insurance landscape and will possibly only detract from their distinctive positioning.

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