Helping co-branded insurers build a shared customer service strategy, operating model, and staffing approach across three states

Launching a health insurance company is complex. Launching three co-branded insurers across multiple states—while relying on outsourced vendors for front-office and back-office functions—requires an even higher level of strategic clarity. Without a common operating model, shared service expectations, and disciplined staffing assumptions, complexity can quickly turn into fragmentation.

Karma Advisory helped three newly formed health insurance companies avoid that outcome.

During the rollout of the Affordable Care Act, three co-branded insurers were established in New Jersey, New York, and Oregon. Their business model relied on outsourced vendors across critical functions, including sales, billing, enrollment, claims, and medical management. While the companies shared a common model, each also needed enough independence to support differentiated leadership, state-specific implementation, and appropriate oversight. Karma was brought in to help define the strategy, operating model, and staffing approach needed to make that structure work in practice.

The Challenge

The core challenge was not simply operational. It was strategic.

The three companies needed a common direction, but not a one-size-fits-all model that ignored the realities of independent leadership and state-level execution. The client needed a shared strategy that could create alignment where it mattered most while still allowing each organization to operate effectively within its own environment.

Several issues made that harder.

There was no sufficiently clear customer service strategy or operating model in place to guide how service should be delivered across the three insurers and their vendors. Technology decisions were also unresolved—particularly whether customer relationship management capabilities should be shared across vendors and companies or managed separately. At the same time, the client needed to think through the full customer life cycle and understand how transaction patterns and engagement needs would shape staffing requirements for each company.

This meant the engagement had to solve for strategy, operations, technology, and workforce planning at the same time.

The Approach

Karma led and facilitated the three health insurance companies through the development of a shared customer service strategy and operating model.

The work began by helping the organizations align around common goals, service expectations, and the structure needed to support a complex outsourced environment. Rather than treating each insurer as a completely separate entity or forcing excessive uniformity, Karma helped define a model that balanced shared direction with differentiated leadership and execution.

From there, we translated the operating model into practical workforce planning. Using industry standards, enrollment estimates, and sensitivity analysis, Karma developed a comprehensive staffing model covering the customer journey from sales through customer service. This gave the companies and their vendors a clearer view of how to prepare for volume, how to structure service delivery, and how to staff appropriately across multiple markets and operational scenarios.

The result was a more coherent launch model—one that helped outsourced partners understand how to operate within a shared but nuanced service environment.

What Karma Delivered

Karma delivered strategic and operational support to help the three insurers move from conceptual alignment to launch readiness.

This included:

• Facilitation of a shared customer service strategy across three co-branded insurers
• Development of a common operating model with room for differentiated implementation and oversight
• Analysis of customer lifecycle and transaction implications for staffing
• Guidance on key service and technology operating considerations
• A comprehensive staffing model spanning sales through customer service
• Sensitivity analysis based on enrollment estimates and service demand assumptions
• Alignment support for outsourced vendors operating across the shared model

The Outcome

The engagement helped position the three companies for a large-scale, coordinated launch.

Karma supported the successful launch of the three co-branded health insurance companies with 12 outsourced call centers in 9 months, supporting daily call volumes of more than 10,000 and serving approximately 200,000 total members. The outsourced vendors gained a clearer understanding of how to operate within a complex structure supporting three separate but co-branded organizations. Service level expectations were maintained, and staffing model estimates proved accurate.

Just as importantly, the companies were able to launch with a stronger shared understanding of their goals, service model, and operational design. What could have become a fragmented vendor-driven environment became a more aligned service model capable of supporting scale.

Why It Mattered

In highly regulated, service-intensive industries, operating model clarity is critical—especially when multiple organizations and vendors must work together under one broader strategy.

By helping the client define a shared customer service strategy and translate it into a workable staffing and delivery model, Karma enabled more than launch support. The engagement created the structure needed for outsourced partners to perform effectively, for leaders to make clearer decisions, and for members to receive more consistent service across a complex multi-state arrangement.

Closing Perspective

Karma Advisory helps organizations bring clarity and structure to complex service models where strategy, operations, and execution must align. In this case, that meant helping three co-branded health insurers launch with a stronger customer service model, better staffing discipline, and a more coordinated approach to operating across multiple states and outsourced partners.