Zurich has launched a pre-application ‘decision indicator’ tool for advisers that it says will reduce the time it takes to get indicative terms for protection quotes.
The new tool should cover 90% of Zurich’s pre-application telephone enquiries and has been designed to provide an instant indication on underwriting decisions before advisers complete full applications on behalf of customers.
A Zurich spokesperson said the new tool will save advisers time by minimising the need for calls to the provider’s pre-application underwriting service.
Available through Zurich’s Life Protection Platform, advisers need to enter key information about their clients such as age, nicotine usage and the required sum assured. Further information such as medical history and lifestyle can also be entered for more accurate indicative decisions.
Where information is not available, advisers can skip questions and “standard assumptions” are applied, speeding up the application process.
All pre-application indicative decisions then saved in a dashboard with a unique reference number, enabling advisers to revisit and edit cases later as well as using the reference to help identify the case if they wish to discuss it with an underwriter.
Indicative decisions given are across a range of Zurich’s protection products and benefits, not just the one selected.
Nicky Bray (pictured), chief underwriter for Zurich’s Life business, said the provider is “on a constant mission” to make applying for cover “as simple and smooth as possible” for both advisers and their customers.
Bray said: “We know that misconceptions about cost and existing illnesses can be barriers to people taking out life insurance. We’re confident that by presenting advisers swiftly, with accurate information about all of the solutions on offer, we can challenge that view.
“We’re confident that by providing advisers with a self-service option that they can access around the clock, we’re supporting them in delivering the best possible service for customers. Ultimately, we’re keen to ensure that as many people as possible benefit from protection and the financial resilience it brings to them and their families.”
