Royal London is extending its Underwrite Later facility to higher value life and and whole of life policies.
The option has been extended to life cover on personal menu plans with a sum assured between £1m and £3.5m, and whole of life (WOL) plans between £500,000 and £3.5m. The added option also applies to joint life policies where both lives are eligible.
Launched in January 2021 for life cover on business and relevant life plans, Underwrite Later enables clients to secure cover while medical evidence is being obtained.
During the underwriting period, Royal London will lock in customers’ age and health, so that if their birthday falls within six months of their cover starting, or their health changes, premiums will not increase and their cover will not be affected.
Online applicants for Underwrite Later will now also have the option to select a start date up to 30 days in future, available on personal protection, WOL, business protection and relevant life plans.
Royal London confirmed last month that 94% of all life cover on business and relevant life plans could be put into force without waiting for medical evidence.
Jennifer Gilchrist, protection specialist at Royal London, (pictured) said: “Since we launched Underwrite Later in January last year, we’ve seen take up of the option go from strength to strength. We have seen a significant boost to the number of applications we can start without the need to get medical evidence, from around 50% to nearly every case.
“As we expand Underwrite Later we’ll be able to offer cover to even more clients. It’s a simple solution that speeds up the onboarding process and makes applications easier, without putting extra pressure on already overburdened GPs and the NHS.”
Rob Harvey, protection product specialist at Protection Guru, added: “Underwrite Later is something we’ve been a fan of at Protection Guru since it first launched, so it’s great to see Royal London extend this to personal life cover and whole of life.
“Given the importance in ensuring clients are protected with the minimum of delay – and the very real risk of claims arising whilst an application is in underwriting – we believe Underwrite Later is something all advisers should take advantage of when available.”