For many Americans, the thought that their health insurance company or managed care organization (MCO) has an entire division of people dedicated to ensuring that customers are provided the services they need is laughable. Nonetheless, many health insurance companies are now dedicating a great deal of personnel to customer satisfaction as the health insurance market becomes more competitive. The recent recession has shown that not even the strongest companies are immune to failure, and as a result many businesses are now beginning to ramp up the activities of their “member services” divisions, which are responsible for ensuring that customer’s needs are met.

These needs can range from the timely application of services such as doctor and specialist appointments, to quick payout turnarounds, to simple question and answer sessions with an agent. Member services in a company is responsible for making sure that all conditions of a current health insurance policy are correctly being met, and that the client is happy with both the service they receive as well as the levels of coverage they have. While member services divisions are still evolving away from the old model in which the customer was always wrong, many still have a long way to go. Here are three ways in which customers can evaluate their current provider and see if it is time to switch.

First, call the company and see how long it takes to get a real person. How many minutes did you wait, how many menus did you wade through, and how close was your eventual destination to what you were looking for? Any wait time longer than five minutes without an explanation or apology is usually a danger sign. Second, see what kind of agents are working at the company by asking questions – specific questions, about both your own policy and the company in general. The agent should be able to either answer your questions directly, transfer you to someone who can, or offer to call you back with the answers. If the response is something along the lines of “I don’t know, go read your health insurance policy,” it’s time to switch.

One last litmus test for a member services division is to call and make a complaint, or raise a concern. Who do they let you speak with, and what is the proposed action? If the only level of response received is at the agent level and you are told the management will be advised, it is unlikely that your business is highly regarded. While these are only a few of the ways in which the administration of a health insurance policy can be evaluated, they are a good initial measure of how the company deals with its clients.