Legal & General has developed an online annuity comparison service to help consumers and advisers secure the best annuity rate across the whole of the market.
L&G’s whole of market comparison service Annuity Ready, launched today (November 22), will allow advisers to see whether a better annuity rate is available for their client from another provider.
Under current regulation firms are required to provide a whole of market comparison to allow their customers to shop around.
But the onus is on the client or their adviser to search the market for the best rate, which means they have to either call up providers individually or go to each of their websites and enter data to get new quotes, L&G stated.
Emma Byron, managing director at Legal & General Retirement Income, said: “At Legal & General, we understand that customers choosing an annuity want to know they’re getting the best rate available to them. Until now, that meant ringing up providers across the market and filling in form after form to find the right deal – no easy task.
“Annuity Ready marks a step-change for our customers looking to find the best possible annuity rate. Through this additional service, we are going beyond existing regulatory requirements to help them easily shop around and achieve better outcomes."
Advisers who contact L&G directly for an annuity quote will be automatically signposted to the new service should a better rate be available from another provider.
This works by L&G sharing an individual's annuity quote with the online service, including any medical disclosures that could qualify the customer for an enhanced annuity rate.
The service then searches the annuity market and shows which firm offers the leading rate.
Clients of other providers will also have access to Annuity Ready, but will need to do so independently of their existing provider.
amy.austin@ft.com
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