• by Steve McClellan  @mp_mcclellan, October 22, 2013

EmblemHealth, the New York-based health insurer is conducting an agency review for both creative and media duties. 

AAR Partners is managing the review process and co-partner Lisa Colantuono indicated that the winning agency will be selected by Mid-December. She declined to provide further details.

The company’s estimated ad spend is about $15 million annually. EmblemHealth is the parent of Group Health Inc. and HIP Health Plans of New York.

The incumbent is Interpublic Group’s Boston-based Mullen, which is said to be defending, although the agency declined to comment. In January 2011 the client selected Mullen for creative and media chores after a review.

Other contenders this time around are said to include Via, Cramer-Krasselt, Allen & Gerritsen, DeVito/Verdi, The Gate and Strategy Farm. 

Sources said the new review is mandatory per EmblemHealth’s corporate governance policy that dictates reviews be conducted every three years.

The review is the second recent agency assessment for the client. In August it selected Merkle as its agency for direct response advertising.

An EmblemHealth rep couldn’t be immediately reached for comment on the review.