- Some provide the option for the adviser or the insurer to go through the underwriting questions.
- Some provide a link for the customer to complete the questions themselves, thereby removing the adviser from that aspect of the process.
- Some say the underwriting information must be collated and keyed by the adviser, with tele-underwriting only used if further information is needed.
- Some say the adviser should start the application, then as soon as they reach the medical questions there is a button to delegate the underwriting to the client. The client receives an email link to the medical questions and this form, once completed, goes back to the adviser.
- Some offer a full tele-underwriting service where the client provides all their medical information to a nurse.
- And, last but not least, some offer the option of either a telephone interview with an expert third party, or an online medical and lifestyle questionnaire may be completed by the adviser on behalf of the client.
“There’s no uniformity in the client journey across insurers,” says Mr Chadborn. “Financial planners aren’t medical experts so it’s preferable to remove the adviser from the underwriting aspect. Also, you often get better disclosure if the client is inputting the data themselves or speaking to a stranger. It can often be the case that the adviser is a family friend, which can make some discussions difficult.
“Therefore, advisers generally want to embrace tele-underwriting, but insurers all do it differently.”
Adviser intel
We wanted to gain a feel for adviser preferences so, prior to writing this article, we carried out a mini survey amongst the members of the Protection Distributors’ Group (PDG).
We found that most members prefer to interact with clients over the phone, as opposed to face-to-face or online. This is perhaps unsurprising considering the year that is. And the fact that we find ourselves in another lockdown.
Most members commented on the importance of a good customer journey and some highlighted the benefits of time efficiency and de-risking the process.
When asked what they would like to see changed about application processes, we received various responses from “De-risk it” and “The removal of extraneous questions that have already been answered earlier in the process” to “Insurers designing application processes with advisers, rather than independently of them”.
Third-party options
While portals do not tend to have every single provider on board, there are still big advantages for any advisers looking to de-risk and/or streamline the application process, which can be summed up in three words: single question set.
