FTAdviser.com

Advertising

Friends Provident has linked up with MorganAsh to provide a tele-interviewing service to speed up income protection applications and reduce non-disclosure.

Qualified and experienced nurses conduct the interviews at the consumers' convenience.

The nurses will contact the applicant and ask them a number of questions focusing mainly on their medical history and then ask more detailed questions on specific disclosures if required.

This change to the underwriting process is designed to provide advisers and customers with faster processing of applications with reduced need for GP results, reduced non-disclosure, signature free and more informed underwriting decisions.

Mark Jones, protection products and actuarial manager for Friends Provident, said: "We have been looking at this for 12 months. We conducted some pilots and looked at the quality of the information that was coming through.

"We found the process was much quicker and did not add any extra cost as the quality of the data meant that in most cases we do not need a GPR, that drives down costs.

"In some cases we do need a GPR and so we do both.

"There are different models in different parts of the market, each provider looks at the best model that works for them. It works particularly well for income protection, especially ailments such as bad backs and stress, things the GP is nor necessarily aware of."

Mr Jones said that the scheme was another part of Friends Provident's three-pronged approach to improve its pro- position: education, through handouts, for example; clarity, by talking to clients; and finally a culture of fairness by taking away the chance of accidental non-disclosure.