Diabetics applying for life cover through Royal London will be able to do so in less than an hour thanks to a robo-underwriting process.
The firm’s new Diabetes Life Cover product is underpinned by the Kalibre insurtech platform, which uses an innovative risk assessment approach supported by continuous underwriting.
People with type 1 and type 2 diabetes often face a lengthy process when applying for cover due to requests for medical evidence, which can mean it takes weeks before an application is accepted.
But the new product, which is available from a small number of adviser firms with plans to launch to the wider market later this year, will make it easier to secure life cover at the point of sale.
Available to people with high HbA1c levels, the product has built-in flexibility to reduce premiums by up to 40 per cent to reflect how well the customer is managing their diabetes by sharing their annual HbA1c test result.
Premiums are guaranteed never to rise higher than the starting premium to give clients certainty that they will be able to maintain their cover.
Debbie Kennedy, group head of protection strategy at Royal London, said: “According to Diabetes UK over 4 million people in the UK are living with diabetes. Securing life cover for people who have been diagnosed with a chronic condition is not always straightforward and can involve detailed medical questionnaires, followed by exclusions, additional premiums or being declined cover, depending on the nature of their condition and how well they manage their health.
“We built our proposition to support these types of customers as the process of applying is one of the main reasons they give for not taking out life cover. At Royal London, we want to provide products and services that help customers with chronic conditions get the cover they need at an affordable premium.”
Tony Larkins, managing director at East Anglia-based Beacon Wealth Management, commented: “Any advance in underwriting is welcome, and if they have a way of doing that that is quicker, then it is definitely a good thing.
“You would not just go on the quicker underwriting but on the premiums and the standard of the underwriting in general, but any advance is welcome.”
simon.allin@ft.com
