This aspect of technology may be one of the most under-appreciated. Advisers looking to extend their service and value proposition into risk can be eased into the process gradually, initially handing over most of the work to the underwriter, but gradually taking on more and more of the work themselves as their expertise and confidence increases.
“There are concepts in the market, like what I’ve just mentioned, which is ‘big-T underwriting’, where they collect, effectively, name, date of birth, gender and a few other important details and send that information to the life company and they [the life company] complete the application,” Tez says.
“It’s the full tele-underwriting experience. There’s tele-underwriting where you can hand over very minimal information and the life company completes all of the questions and the follow-ups; and there’s ‘little-t’,where you complete the whole application and the life company will call you back with follow-up questions.
“What we’re seeing is inexperienced advisers are more likely to use big-T tele-underwriting. It goes back to that point of institutionalising the complexity.
“There’s also things like two-way integration with adviser practice management software. That’s where in-force information gets fed back, and they do their quotes in their adviser software. That information can then pre-populate the quote as well.”
Tez says that with AIA there’s no difference in the level of remuneration received by an adviser if they do the entire application themselves or hand it over almost totally to the underwriter.”
Technology is necessarily a moving target – a journey, rather than a destination, Tez says.
“We constantly make refinements to our rule sets and the way people transact with us. It never stands still,” he says.
While most of the focus of life companies has, to date, been on the application and underwriting stages of the process, they are now turning their attention to the claims process.
Tez says many of the concepts that underpin the approach taken to applications can be applied to claims.
BT’s Moffitt says, in line with other companies, that the use of technology in the claims area can develop a lot further.
“It will continue,” he says.
“My feeling is that claims technology will be an area of focus in coming years. “There is a demand from consumers
to have clear visibility over where their claim is at, and the process of making a claim. There’s planner and consumer demand for greater visibility at that point in the process. I definitely see that there’s going to be developments in that claims space.”
