In 2015, Nicole Tilot was working as a financial advisor and went through a frustrating process with a client who was applying for insurance.
It took months to obtain the medical records required. The process required paper documents and faxing back and forth.
“It shouldn’t be so hard for someone to go out and get insurance coverage,” Tilot says. “It’s a complicated process, it’s confusing, it takes a long time, it’s frustrating and it shouldn’t be that hard.”
She recognized that health care providers were rapidly moving toward electronic medical records and decided there was an opportunity to improve the process.
It’s an idea that took some time to develop.
“The insurance industry is really slow to change,” says Tilot, who believes the industry is now ready for her idea as use of digital health records has become widespread in the last five years.
AppEase is a digital health data exchange that allows health care providers and insurance companies to exchange medical records.
“It has applications in life, disability and long-term care insurance underwriting and also claims processing,” Tilot says.
While AppEase will be marketed to insurance carriers, the results will benefit their customers.
“I want insurance to be easier for the consumer,” Tilot says.
AppEase obtains digital data and can reduce time for obtaining medical records from 30 days to just three. The software also has analytic solutions that provide searchable and sortable data. Tilot and AppEase co-founder Kyli Ortlieb are exploring additional features to debut in the future.
Tilot met Ortlieb through the BluePrint Green Bay Accelerator. Ortlieb, who Tilot calls a “tech genius,” was part of another insurtech startup.
The two have sought out industry-specific mentors and advice along the way, and Tilot says it is helpful to be in the Midwest, where there are lots of both insurance carriers and support. They have interviewed carriers, underwriters and claims adjusters as they have built out AppEase.
“The industry needs a change and they’re ready,” Tilot says.
Tilot says she and Ortlieb are ready to roll out version one of AppEase and enter the pilot phase. The next step is to rapidly expand their network of insurance carriers and health care providers.
She says it’s a bit nerve-wracking, but adds, “We’ve done the best to de-risk our company.”
She also says the risk of failure has been less important to her than knowing that she made an effort to solve the problem.
The business is rapidly scalable and Tilot anticipates growth.
“It’s been a long time coming, so it’s exciting to be at a place where we can actually sell our product,” she says.
