As the following article explores, advances in the application and underwriting phase by market leaders, such as Tower Australia, have eliminated many of the obstacles of the past when it comes to applying for insurance. Making it now easier than ever for you to tick the box on this critical component of your Financial Plan.

Making life insurance easier to get and better understood is one of the keys to enable people to obtain proper coverage. In the past, the underwriting procedures of many life insurance companies have made it difficult for advisers and their clients.

No-one likes asking detailed personal questions of another’s health and medical records and the requirement to obtain medical histories and/or blood samples in the past has scared many a potential client off. It is either; scary, too confronting or just too plain difficult.

One of the keys to success the Australian industry has learned from the UK is that making life insurance easier has resulted in more people getting the necessary coverage they require. The introduction by TOWER Australia of its Accelerated Protection Range, based on the UK experience but refined and adapted for the local market, is all about that.

In the past, getting people on-cover often took up to six weeks as paper flowed back and forth between the adviser, the client and the insurance company. Many clients just gave up and walked away.

Now, in many instances, cover can be almost instantaneous with computer based ‘rules’ allowing underwriters to quickly assess and approve applications.

However, there are always instances where some questions need to be asked. This is where Tele-underwriting has come into play in a big way for the industry and is a key part of the TOWER Accelerated Protection process.

Where a client completes an application but more information is required, instead of the adviser being required to ask those questions, it is done over the telephone.

In the majority of cases, a simple answer can resolve the question and cover is again, almost immediate.

This is particularly suited to situations where clients may feel uncomfortable discussing some medical issues with an adviser. For example, many women don’t necessarily feel at ease answering personal medical questions before a male adviser and vice-versa. A less personal but professional voice over the phone may be more acceptable to key people.

As mentioned, the call may be quick with a simple answer required. However, they can be longer and take up to 45 minutes for a detailed tele-interview particularly where an adviser has chosen to have the online application completed over the phone.

In more detailed instances, the questions may range through health and lifestyle issues. In other instances, for the shorter tele-underwriting process, it may be just asking for clarification of an answer given to one or more questions and generally takes around 10 minutes.

TOWER Australia offers some handy hints for clients in dealing with a tele-interview and/or tele-underwriting situation. The key is to have all the relevant medical information available.

The great majority of financial advisers dealing with life insurance clients recognise the benefits of tele-underwriting. It frees them of a considerable amount of paperwork and from asking sometimes difficult questions. The key issue is that they remain the primary point of contact with the client.

If you would like to discuss any aspect of this article you are welcome to contact the writer, our office on (03) 9841 7755 or email steve@atkinsonfp.com.au

Sources/Acknowledgements:

• Tower Australia

Stephen Atkinson, Authorised Representative of Securitor Financial Group Ltd. ABN 48 009 189 495 Australian Financial Services Licensee 240687.

This information is of a general nature only and has been provided without taking account of your objectives, financial situation or needs. Because of this, we recommend you consider, with or without the assistance of a financial adviser, whether the information is appropriate in light of your particular needs and circumstances.To assist you in doing this, you should obtain a copy of and consider the Product Disclosure Statement for the products before making any decision