Positive Solutions has partnered with technology provider, The Open Market Annuity Service to provide a new service that it says will speed up the annuitisation service for partner IFAs and their clients.
Tomas provides the supporting technology for many annuity distributors in the UK, including Positive Solution’s fellow Aegon-owned IFA Origen.
It is also providing technology support for a new face-to-face annuity advice service being launched by Nationwide Building Society, which was also announced today (5 March).
Positive Solutions’ new whole of market service, Positive Annuities, uses a bespoke online quote engine and report generator to compare annuities, including enhanced annuities, and produce a client-facing report.
The service is fully integrated with Positive Solutions’ processes to streamline the annuity business writing process.
According to Peter Coleman, chief executive of Positive Solutions, the new proposition will allow IFA partners to quote 60 different annuity shapes and provide a compliance approved client report.
The system uses a short and simple form to identify clients who might benefit from an enhanced annuity with a full enhanced annuity questionnaire where this is required.
It also automatically sends client details to all enhanced annuity providers and collates the results, making it easier for partners to obtain enhanced annuity quotes.
Mr Coleman said: “Buying an annuity is one of the most important decisions someone will make. Seeking advice can make a big difference to their income in retirement but many people are put off by the perceived complexity and expense.
“Using the expertise of Tomas, our new annuity system will speed up the annuitisation process, making it affordable for clients and helping our IFA Partners write business more profitably.
“We expect this to encourage more partners to focus on developing this side of their business and help more clients get the valuable advice they need.”
Graeme Riddoch, sales and marketing director of Tomas, said: “It is a fact that writing annuity business with a view to getting the best deal for the customer and maintaining profitability can be difficult, especially for small funds.
“In particular underwriting customers for enhanced annuities and gathering accurate guaranteed quotes from all providers can be expensive and time consuming.
“We are really pleased that Positive Solutions has recognised this and is investing to keep partners ahead of the game and to ensure the customer is the ultimate winner.”
