He says “We need to move to a world where we ask for more information in the application process and we should be able to give 98 per cent of people a buy now price, and the other 2 per cent a very clear indication of what they would pay.
“We are no longer in the 1970s so we need to stop acting like it. UnderwriteMe is doing great work in this space.”
Michael Aldridge, sales director at London and Country, says that after many years of procrastination we’re witnessing a hugely exciting period of development in the word of protection underwriting.
He says many providers now recognise the need to embrace technology and the myriad of benefits that this can bring to them.
With such developments as UnderwriteMe, Mr Aldridge says the protection industry could leap ahead of many other financial sectors after being seen as a poor and under-developed relation for so long.
UnderwriteMe recently launched as a system that enables advisers to obtain fully underwritten ‘ready to buy’ quotes.
Different products from various insurers can be mixed and matched without having to answer a different set of underwriting questions, and with no need to go to an insurer’s website to make the application, as the whole process from quote to having the policy in force can be done through the UnderwriteMe system.
Phil Jeynes, UnderwriteMe’s head of sales and marketing, says generally advisers have to make applications using each provider’s own extranet system, and while the question sets for each insurer are different, there is an enormous amount of repetition as well as variable levels of quality to contend with.
UnderwriteMe allows advisers to get fully underwritten premiums as well as quick, standard quotes, which can be applied for instantly without ever having to leave the system.
Mr Jeynes says: “It lets advisers focus on product, service and genuine price, without worrying about what might happen during an underwriting journey after they’ve applied.”
LifeSearch’s Ms Thomson says getting as many clients as possible underwritten at point of sale is a priority; with more clients than ever looking to buy online and/or over the phone, speed and efficiency is of the essence.
She says: “Systems such as UnderwriteMe keep the application process streamlined, enabling clients to answer one set of questions, be underwritten online and then choose the best terms offered.
“There needs to be more investment into streamlining processes to ensure when clients choose to protect themselves, they are not put off by the process.”
Portals are also developing their technology to streamline the underwriting process.
