Guardian has made changes to its mental health underwriting question set and made enhancements related to asthma, diabetes, hypertension and cholesterol.
The underwriting changes are aimed at supporting full disclosure and making it easier and faster for clients with these conditions to get a decision and be offered appropriate terms, the insurer said.
The changes form part of the upgrade to Guardian’s quote and apply system, which is integrated with UnderwriteMe’s underwriting rules engine technology.
It expects the moves to speed up decisions for applicants who disclose lower risk mental and physical health conditions.
Underwriting changes include:
- Mental health: Clearer question wording with conditions separated out in line with ABI guidelines, to differentiate between anxiety, depression, self-harm and suicidal thoughts,
- Asthma: Fewer requirements for medical evidence and reduced loadings for some smokers with mild asthma,
- Diabetes: Fewer evidence requirements where associated conditions are present, for example raised cholesterol or blood pressure,
- Hypertension: No automatic postponement solely due to blood pressure checks having not taken place in the previous 18 months,
- Cholesterol: No longer asked if cholesterol has been checked in the last 12 months.
Caroline Froude, head of technical underwriting at Guardian, said: “The world’s changed and people talk about mental health very differently now. Everyone is much more open to discussing issues, both mild and serious, and so it’s right to alter our question set to account for that.
“Our new mental health question set differentiates between anxiety, depression, self-harm and suicidal thoughts, to reflect our current understanding of risk associated with the range of different mental health conditions, as well as ABI best practice.
“The questions help support advisers and their clients in making full and accurate disclosure, and means they’ll receive the appropriate underwriting outcome without compromising speed.
“We’ve also made changes for applications containing disclosures about asthma, diabetes, hypertension and cholesterol levels.
“We’ve reduced the amount of evidence required in some instances, which helps improve the application experience while continuing to give the adviser and their client complete certainty in their protection policy.”