British Friendly has overhauled its income protection (IP) application processand extended its maximum earnings limit and benefit payment.
The insurer has cut its online medical and lifestyle questionnaire to nine compulsory questions and reduced the minimum 31 clicks down to 14.
The questionnaire now groups questions into sections – physical wellbeing and mental wellbeing – using wording in line with the Association of British Insurers Mental Health Standards.
The IP specialist said the move was in response to adviser feedback.
British Friendly has also increased the maximum annual pre-tax earnings it covers from £65,000 to £100,000 to offer more protection for higher earners.
The society added that it will cover 70% of an applicant’s annual pre-tax income up to the first £65,000, then 45% above £65,000 up to £100,000, providing a maximum benefit of £61,250 per year.
Liam Shortland, development coach at LifeSearch, said: “The improvements in the application journey will make it easier to put clients on-risk quicker and save advisers time so it’s a positive change. Applications can often be unnecessarily complex so this overhaul is welcome. It’s also good news that we can offer more cover to people on higher salaries.”
Natalie Summerson, sales and marketing director at British Friendly, added: “Our improved online application journey has been enabled by our new digital platform and, thanks to valuable feedback from advisers, we’ve been able to make significant improvements.
“For advisers it means improved efficiency with less time required on average per application, fewer further information requests and phone calls and reduced end-to-end times which we know can impact conversion rates. It will enable underwriters to make more final decisions straight from application.”
