HBF Health, one of the big five of Australia’s health insurance industry, recently completed one of the most ambitious digital transformation programs in the sector.
With private health insurance affordability concerns, an ageing population and increasing competition from tech-driven insurers, not to mention a fast-ageing, mainframe-dependent technology stack, HBF recognised the need for urgent change. Over five years, the organisation migrated from legacy systems to a cloud-first, ever-green infrastructure, enhancing process efficiency and delivering better customer experiences.
This large-scale transformation reflects a broader industry trend – PwC reports that 87 per cent of insurers view digital transformation as critical to staying competitive, yet only 30 per cent feel confident in their current digital capabilities.
As the Future of Insurance conference approaches, we spoke with Sanjeev Gupta, Chief Information and Transformation Officer at HBF, to discuss the organisation’s transformation journey. Gupta shares how HBF modernised its operations, navigated complexities, and is now leveraging cloud, AI, and automation to improve customer service. With industry-wide digital investments set to exceed $570 billion by 2030, HBF’s experience offers valuable insights into how insurers can drive long-term innovation and remain resilient in an increasingly digital landscape.
FST Media: HBF has had a busy few years completing its wholesale transformation program. What prompted such a comprehensive overhaul?
Gupta: HBF’s digital transformation wasn’t just a technology upgrade – it was a response to some of the biggest challenges facing private health insurance today. Rising costs, shifting demographics, and increasing competition meant we had to rethink how we operated to remain relevant and sustainable.
Our transformation journey, which kicked off in late 2019 and wrapped up in August 2024, tackled these head-on by modernising our systems, simplifying our products, and improving the overall member experience.
At the heart of this transformation was a complete shift to public cloud-based systems, replacing outdated legacy platforms with cutting-edge technology. This included our new core insurance platform, Ensure, a CRM system called ‘EVE’ (engaged valued experiences), and myHBF, a more intuitive member portal. We also embraced automation, AI and data-driven decision-making, making HBF more agile and member-focused than ever before.
Over five years, more than 500 people contributed 3.1 million hours of work, completing 123 sprints and 30,000 test cases, all to ensure a seamless transition. With 85 per cent of our applications now in the cloud, we’re future-ready and committed to continually evolving for our members.
FST Media: What steps were taken to ensure a smooth and successful transition?
Gupta: To make sure our members’ needs were always the priority, we brought frontline employees into the transformation team. Their insights were invaluable, ensuring this was a business-led transformation, not just a technology upgrade. Their involvement played a huge role in the program’s success.
We also took an innovative approach to launching our new systems, introducing a ‘dark launch’ strategy. For nearly a year, 80 per cent of the new systems ran in a live production environment but weren’t publicly accessible. This allowed us to fine-tune data processes and ensure that everything worked seamlessly before going fully live.
To keep members informed, we proactively communicated upcoming changes to their policies. Thanks to this preparation, we completed the transition much faster than industry norms, with just 62 hours of downtime, minimising disruption and delivering a smoother experience for everyone.
FST Media: The transformation involved a number of moving parts, intricacies, and negotiations with a range of stakeholders. How did you manage these complexities and ensure alignment across the organisation during the transition?
Gupta: Managing the complexities of the transformation involved a strong focus on agility. We set up business-led tribes and squads to keep things organised and ensure teams worked closely together. This agile approach made a big difference by enabling faster delivery and better collaboration. We used tools like Jira and Confluence to manage tasks and ensure safe handling of documentation, keeping risks low.
The agile model continues to add value, aligning well with our broader organisational strategy.
It’s now adopted across various teams, Digital, Member Services, Insurance and Health, and governed to stay in sync with HBF’s objectives.
To keep employees engaged and on track, we introduced Change Champions, hosted quarterly showcases, and held ‘On the Couch’ Q&A sessions with the leadership team. We also offered ‘hands-on’ sessions to get frontline teams familiar with new systems and delivered over 18,000 hours of training to ensure everyone was equipped for the change.
FST Media: With many of your peer insurance and financial services organisations also undertaking similar transformation and modernisation initiatives, what advice can you offer to effectively measure progress and ensure long-term success?
Gupta: Digital transformation is a marathon, not a sprint.
When organisations like HBF embark on such a big change, there’s often a gap between expectations and the time it takes to achieve them. While it’s important to set targets, flexibility is key, especially when the scope is as extensive as ours. Just like in a marathon, there are milestones to hit and setbacks – whether technical, social or financial – can make the journey feel longer. The key is to keep teams engaged and ready to adjust priorities as things evolve.
Long-term buy-in was crucial throughout our transformation.
We ensured alignment with HBF’s unique member value propositions, ‘Simply human’ and ‘Available their way,’ which helped set clear expectations for the technology’s impact. With the board and the executive team’s support, we navigated challenges, including a mid-program pivot to a new core insurance product.
Collaboration was at the heart of our success, bringing together more than 500 people, including teams from Deloitte, PwC, AWS, Civica, Salesforce and more, to work together to make sure every aspect, from data migration to people training, was done with care. A key part of our success was integrating frontline employees into the transformation team to get insights into operational pain points and ensure the member experience was always the priority.
We also implemented ‘Change Champions’ to support teams, advocate for the transformation, and keep the momentum going even during tough times.
FST Media: Looking ahead, what’s next for HBF in terms of evolving your digital infrastructure? How do you plan to drive continuous improvement?
Gupta: Our digital transformation has laid the foundation for continuous innovation, positioning us as a health insurer of the future.
Externally, we’re focused on providing more self-service options for our members and exploring cutting-edge technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and generative AI to enhance experiences for both employees and members. Ultimately, we aim to make life easier for everyone connected to HBF, whether it’s simplifying claims or supporting significant life moments like the birth of a child.
Internally, we’re already experimenting with the new AWS environment with GenAI and services like Textract and Bedrock to significantly reduce manual work in claims processing, as well as using natural language prompts via AWS services and Salesforce to make data access smoother. We’re also looking into Agentic AI to help members and staff quickly surface and act on the right information.
Looking ahead to 2030, HBF’s strategy will focus on leveraging the trust we’ve built with members, our ‘for-member’ status, and our upgraded systems to become an active health partner.
Our transformation will enable us to deliver better data insights, manage our portfolio more effectively, reduce operational costs with more efficient IT, attract and retain top talent, and deliver change quickly, all while staying agile and aligned with our strategic goals.
FST Media: A delegate favourite, we’re delighted to welcome you back to our Future of Insurance conference later this month. What do you hope to share with and learn from your peers?
Gupta: It is always good to hear how my peers are tackling the challenges we face as an industry and as leaders. The problems are not unique, and I am always keen to learn from others who may be in different stages of their journey than us. ◼️
