12 connected strategy in the health insurance industry Connected Customer Relationship Through its Connected Care program and its acquisitions and strategic investments, Cigna is trying to move away from its buy-what-we-have model and offer a connected customer relationship that allows the firm to respond to customers’ desires and to curate their selection of care. From that point of view, Cigna is trying to move towards more of a curated offering, but its level of curation is not yet as personalized as a connected strategy would ideally be. Connection Architecture Similarly to Aetna, these moves may allow Cigna to transition from a market maker who has limited interactions with how customers deal with the suppliers—primary care doctors, hospitals, specialty doctors—to a connected retailer that customers trust and have brand equity in. Performance Cigna is at the beginning stages of its transition to a connected firm, and the ultimate success of its strategy is yet to be determined. . However, it will likely be a gradual process for Cigna, as customers may have a set notion of Cigna’s role and therefore do not trust that Cigna can offer enough value to see them as a trusted partner. Trust will improve when more of the changes Cigna plans to implement are put in place, including changes to technology and its revenue model, as well as creating a more unified customer expe- rience across different channels and providers.  4. Key Insights and Learnings 1. Natively digital companies can employ connected strategies as a way to disrupt incumbent companies in niches within an established industry The transition to value-based, prevention-focused care and the rise of data analytics have fostered a number of health-tech insurance start-ups (such as Oscar Health and Clover Health) seeking to create a different customer experience in an industry not traditionally focused on B2C. Partly due to a change in the regulatory environment following the Affordable Care Act, these health-tech insurance companies have gained significant market share in B2C settings, including individual plans for Oscar Health and Medicare Advantage for Clover Health. These players have focused on a wide range of connected strategies, including respond-to-desire, curated offering, coach behavior, connected customer relationships within a connected producer, and connected retailer architecture in order to become the interface that their members use to interact with