Holloway Friendly has widened its online underwriting process, allowing protection advisers to write both full and short-term income protection business in minutes.
The company claims the move will save advisers time and money. The service was initially only available on its short-term income protection product, but in a bid to improve the fairness of underwriting outcomes for applicants, Holloway Friendly said it has also removed all standard permanent exclusions on its full benefit income protection offering.
The company said many existing conditions that customers suffer from can be temporary. However, the industry still treats some of these ailments as if they were permanent conditions in its underwriting.
Mike Taylor, member services director at Holloway Friendly, said: “This is another major step for Holloway friendly in the world of online underwriting.
“Protection advisers can now apply for both full-term and short-term income protection on behalf of their customers in a fraction of the time versus paper applications and ‘big T’ tele-interviews.”
The move has been welcomed by advisers who have called for measures that will help more people see the benefit of taking out income protection.
Chris Shepherd, head of protection sales at adviser firm Albany Park, said: “Having the ability to use an interactive underwriting application for both short and long-term income protection policies is going to improve customer journey.”
Carl Shave, director of Just Mortgage Brokers, said: “Holloway Friendly’s approach to introduce a more automated and interactive underwriting process is a welcome move.
“This, when combined with its view on removing standard conditions, should make the application journey a much quicker process for clients and advisers alike.”
Ima Jackson-Obot is features writer at Financial Adviser