Legal & General asks underwriting questions on behalf of advisers

Legal & General, the UK’s leading life and critical illness cover provider, has now put over 25,000 protection insurance applications ‘on risk’ through its simplified underwriting service, L&G Max.

This telephone service captures all the relevant information from a customer on their lifestyle, occupation and family medical history on behalf of the adviser and an underwriting decision is given at the end of the call.

Advisers can sometimes find it difficult or awkward taking clients through the sensitive, personal questions involved in a life insurance application. With L&G Max, this burden is taken away from them as

Legal & General staff take customers through the full underwriting process over the telephone. In this way, accepted applications are put ‘on risk’ without delay and commissions are paid promptly.

Bonnie Burns, Legal & General’s Product and Propositions Director for Protection said: “Advisers would prefer to focus on selling financial products, not becoming ‘medical experts’. Therefore we, as the protection specialists, should take the responsibility of asking customers about their lifestyle and medical background with experienced staff who are trained in this sensitive area. This results in a more cohesive experience for the customer and quicker application turnaround times for advisers.”

One firm that believes that L&G Max adds value to its business is theidol.com. Peter Burgess, Managing Director said: “Since we went live with L&G max in February 2006 it has reduced our processing time and most importantly it has given our customers a better journey, which has given rise to many e-mails complementing us on our service, www.theidol.com.”

Legal & General regularly asks customers for their views on L&G Max and it’s clear that they find it a positive experience. The most recent research showed that 89% of customers were happy to provide sensitive information directly to Legal & General over the telephone.

Bonnie Burns added: “Our experience has shown that advisers welcome this service as it allows them to get on with their day job. They don’t need to worry about checking that their client has fully disclosed all medical details on the application form because we take on that responsibility.”