HSBC Life has introduced new digital rules for mental illness disclosures made during a life and critical illness cover application.
These rules build on HSBC Life’s drive to “trust the customer” and “remove the stigma of mental illness and barriers to protection”.
It explained that taking time off work and seeking treatment are seen as a positive for tackling the illness and not a barrier to the customer’s protection needs.
HSBC Life head of product and chief distribution officer, Mitchell Barker, said: “We continue to build trust with our customers, and we are working hard to increase our focus on improving inclusivity and moving away from historic industry practices.”
The protection provider also stated it recognised customers who have had historic thoughts of suicide or self-harm should have the opportunity to recieve standard terms at application stage.
With this approach, it claims to have increased the opportunities for cover with standard terms at application stage with no back-office underwriting and no need for a GP report.
HSBC Life provided insight into how the rules would affect consumers, with initial tests seeing 10 per cent more applicants disclosing a mental illness receiving terms at application stage.
Additionally, 70 per cent of applicants disclosing mental health issues received standard terms at application stage.
Barker added these results demonstrated how the evolution of HSBC Life’s underwriting approach is “further enhancing” inclusivity and “enabling more people to receive important protection cover”.
tom.dunstan@ft.com
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