Royal London is to roll out its Underwrite Later solution to more protection products in the next couple of months following its launch early last year.
Underwrite Later enables clients to secure cover while medical evidence is being obtained. Since its January 2021 launch, the percentage of the mutual’s life cover and relevant life plans put into force without waiting for the return of medical evidence increased from 50% to 94%.
Royal London noted two in five advisers have recommended and used the option with their clients regularly and said it has proven most popular for cases with a higher sum assured, over £1m.
The option is available to advisers if Royal London cannot offer online terms straight away and the client meets the eligibility criteria. Once all evidence has been received, the application is assessed as normal to confirm the final decision.
In the first year of operation 81% of cases which were underwritten as part of the Underwrite Later option had no change to terms given at outset. The insurer added that 13% saw premiums increased, but said in those cases most terms were only increased slightly, and in a handful of cases terms were improved.
Jennifer Gilchrist, proposition specialist at Royal London, (pictured) said: “Underwrite Later was born out of a vision to simplify the underwriting process and iron out issues with the evidence gathering phase, in particular medical evidence, which encountered delays as a result of the pandemic.
“It also doesn’t put extra pressure on already overburdened GPs and the NHS, but it does give advisers and their clients peace of mind that cover is in place and they don’t need to be distracted by the underwriting process working in the background.
“In essence it’s a simple solution that speeds up the onboarding process and makes applications easier. We made sure to involve advisers and consumers in the design and development of the feature and it has been, and continues to be, really well received.
“We are therefore looking to widen out the availability of the option as part of our development activity in 2022.”
