Novo Connection History
The Novo Benefits story began in 2007 when Michael E. Poelman formed Cobecon (Corporate Benefits Consortium). Having been in the industry for many years and frustrated by the limited solutions available to employers under 5,000 lives, Poelman assembled a team focused on bringing Fortune 500 benefits to smaller groups. Their fierce dedication to transparency, independence, and integrity has transformed self-funded offerings.
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In August of 2017, Cobecon re-branded to become Novo Benefits. We believe our new name and look better matches our mission to disrupt the status quo. In Latin, Novo means renew, refresh, and change. We know group health benefits are expensive, frustrating, and complicated and want to be part of the solution.
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Since the founding of Cobecon in 2007, the insurance landscape has changed a lot and we’ve changed too. However, our core values of innovation, transparency, and independence remain the same and continue to set us apart. As benefit architects that provide customized solutions, we always say ‘if you can think it, we can build it’. Novo Benefits delivers cutting-edge solutions that not only contain insurance costs, but also provide the best benefits available for members.
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As a company, we have always been thoughtful and purposeful with growth and change. We employed the same focus to our decision to re-brand. Our design goal was to better match our look to our values and the users we serve. A small team inside the company worked to find something that appeared crisp, approachable, smart, friendly, and connected.
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The dominant blue color shows our commitment to honesty and integrity. You can trust that we will always do the right thing and be fully transparent in our fee structure. We never accept hidden revenue streams or overrides. The multi-colored pinwheel symbolizes our focus on being market leaders. We constantly push for creative solutions to make insurance affordable for employers while caring for the members. The sans serif font is deliberately clean, modern, and bold.
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Our decision to use a pinwheel in our design was inspired by the multi-faceted programs we deliver. We’ve thought of everything and gathered industry experts to support and guide you through the process of building a plan that works for your population. We believe this modern take on the pinwheel communicates our dedication to delivering fully integrated and customized solutions every time.