LanguageLine Blog

What Is Localization, And When Do You Need It?

Posted by Scott Ludwigsen on February 22, 2018

Arriving at a website that wasn’t intended for you can feel a lot like traveling to a foreign country you hadn’t planned to visit. You don’t recognize the currency or know the exchange rate. You struggle to read the signs. You scan the landscape for something familiar, but nothing seems to be where you expect it to be.

If you’ve ever experienced this, you already understand the importance of localization even if you’re not sure exactly what it means.

Here’s a quick overview of localization, when to use it and how the localization process works.

Why More Retailers Are Using Video Remote Interpreting to Reach Multicultural Consumers

Posted by The LanguageLine Solutions Team on February 15, 2018

The face of retail consumers in the United States is changing. Multicultural consumers – including Asian, Hispanic and mixed-race individuals – are the fastest-growing population group in the U.S., with 120 million strong and increasing each year, according to Nielsen research.

Millions of Dollars Are On the Line. Is Your Organization Doing All It Can to Secure Five Stars?

Posted by Suzy duMont-Perez on February 13, 2018

Each year, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) publish quality ratings for Medicare Part C and D plans. Plans are given a rating between 1 and 5 stars, with Quality Bonus Payments (QBPs) going to plans earning 4 or 5 stars. According to one study, these QBPs can amount to an extra 5% per member annually.

How Independent Insurance Agents Can Use Language Services to Expand

Posted by Greg Marshall on January 9, 2018

In the most basic sense, having agency means having the power to act in a given environment. Independent insurance agents exercise that power every day, but it may be limited if they have difficulty communicating with customers whose primary language isn’t the same as their own.

Having access to comprehensive language support is no longer a "nice to have" if business expansion is the goal. Eliminating language barriers is essential to a great customer experience.

About one in five Americans speaks a language other than English at home, and they’re likely an untapped or underutilized market for the independent agents working with your insurance company. By partnering with a language services agency that offers interpreting and translation, you can help agents reach and sell to these millions of potential customers. Here are just a few of the ways independent agents can benefit from a language services agency.

What 2017 Taught Insurance Companies About the Need for Language Services

Posted by Greg Marshall on December 13, 2017

For tens of thousands of people, 2017 was a year of devastation.

First it was floods: residents in Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico, and other southern states faced catastrophic damage. Hurricane Harvey alone claimed at least 48 lives and caused an estimated $190 billion in damage. Then it was fire. Wildfires in Northern and Southern California forced thousands of residents to evacuate their homes as the governor twice declared a state of emergency.

When you factor in severe storms, cyclones, and other weather-related events, there were 15 that claimed more than 320 lives as of October. Each disaster cost $1 billion or more. Many of those affected were limited English proficient, deaf, or hard-of-hearing and required language services.Insurance companies know disaster is inevitable.

Having a language service provider on hand is a simple step they can take to ensure they are prepared to assist their policyholders and provide a great customer experience, regardless of language need.

CASE STUDY: How The Mount Sinai Hospital Implemented Mobile Interpretation

Posted by The LanguageLine Solutions Team on December 7, 2017

The Mount Sinai Hospital in New York is one of America’s largest and most respected medical facilities, acclaimed internationally for excellence in clinical care. In the 2017-2018 “Best Hospitals” issue of U.S. News and World Report, Mount Sinai was nationally ranked in 10 specialties, and its pediatric center was listed among the country’s best children’s hospitals in six out of 10 areas of care.

Interpreter and Translator are America's Top Emerging Careers

Posted by The LanguageLine Solutions Team on December 6, 2017

Interpreters and translators top the national list of emerging careers for bachelor’s degree holders, according to a new study.

Is Your Organization Ready for New Language-Access Laws Coming in 2018?

Posted by Suzy duMont-Perez on December 4, 2017

You may not realize it, but two laws aimed at improving communication with limited-English-proficient (LEP) beneficiaries will go into effect in 2018.

If yours is a home-health agency seeking to participate in Medicare or a health-insurance company that offers plans for employees, you will want to pay attention to these new laws so as to stay in compliance.

Measuring the ROI of Language Services in Health Care

Posted by Matthew Riley on December 1, 2017

A Somali man rushes into the emergency room with his young son, who has fallen from the balcony of their second-story apartment. Although the boy has no visible injuries, his father is concerned he may have a concussion and internal bleeding. He tries frantically to communicate with emergency room personnel using gestures and the few English phrases he has learned since moving to the United States six months before.

The triage nurse quickly places a video call to a Somali interpreter, who can relay the man’s concerns to her. Within minutes, the boy undergoes a CAT scan and receives appropriate treatment and monitoring. He is able to return home with his father later that evening.

Without video remote interpreting, this scenario could have played out much differently. While other industries demand to see a return on investment in hard dollars, the ROI of language services in health care is often measured by the absence of something.

Here are seven ways healthcare professionals measure the impact of their investment in language services.

Multicultural ‘Super’ Consumers Are Buying: Are You Selling?

Posted by Bob Gallagher on November 29, 2017

“Super consumers” are the superheroes of retail. Both emotionally and economically engaged with brands and products, they are the top 10 percent of households that represent at least 30 percent of sales, 40 percent of growth and 50 percent of profit in any given category. Any retailer not connecting with these consumers’ passions and enthusiasm may face struggles.

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