Iress is expanding its ex-smoker pricing to multi-benefit products on The Exchange.
The expansion also sees the addition of Scottish Widows, bringing the total number of supporting insurers to nine; including Aviva, HSBC, Legal & General, Royal London, Vitality, Zurich, National Friendly and Walsham Brothers.
In November 2024, Iress added ex-smoker pricing on The Exchange and Xplan Mortgage sourcing systems, introducing dedicated fields for ex-smoker and mixed-smoker statuses across its term, critical illness and income protection comparison services.
The move aimed to address a long-standing industry blind spot, where advisers previously had to navigate inconsistent insurer rules when pricing ex-smokers, often resulting in inaccurate quotes, delays and inefficiencies.
Within months of introducing the ex-smoker feature, Iress said it had seen quote-to-apply times fall from 25 minutes to 20 minutes, demonstrating immediate efficiency benefits for advisers and clients.
The latest expansion to multi-benefit plans means that ex-smoker statuses are now fully supported across all term, critical illness, and income protection services on The Exchange.
‘Important initiative’
Jacqueline Durbin, head of product for sourcing at Iress, (pictured) said: “We’re delighted to continue rolling out ex-smoker pricing and to gain the support of almost all insurers.
“This is an important initiative in our commitment to tackle complexity in protection. With accurate ex-smoker data Scottish Widows, and the other insurers on the service, are well positioned to deliver greater certainty and transparency to their customers, which also helps build greater trust in advisers.”
Scott Taylor, head of commercial at Scottish Widows, added: “We’re proud to work alongside Iress to enhance the adviser and customer experience through multi-benefit protection.
“The addition of ex-smoker pricing to this service is a powerful example of how technology and insurer collaboration can reward customers for making positive lifestyle changes, ensuring premiums are fair, personalised, and aligned with their health journey.”