A predicted 70% of underwriting will be done electronically
Harnessing technology is the key to continued development in the protection market, according to Jamie Gatoff, national business development manager at Friends Provident.
Speaking at the COVER Protection Forum, Gatoff encouraged the industry to embrace technology to help speed up the sales process for providers, advisers and clients alike. Gatoff warned delegates that increasing submissions had left providers unable to cope and that current procedures were dated.
"Some providers are being deluged with business and cannot cope. They need to harness technology. Existing processes are flawed, and we, as an industry, cannot keep doing the same things the same way," he said.
Gatoff stressed that electronic underwriting - a paperless and signature-free trading system - is beginning to be introduced into the UK market and said this will greatly influence the way advisers carry out business. He said the demand for tech- nology stems from advisers' increasing frustration with product providers' inability to deliver a consistent, efficient and speedy service.
Although only 6% of new business in 2002 was transacted entirely via the internet, once electronic underwriting gains headway in the UK, Gatoff predicts that up to 70% will be conducted entirely online.
He dismissed providers offer- ing 'pseudo electronic' under- writing systems - those that allow part of the submission to be executed online with the provider completing the underwriting manually and in-house - claiming they will not go the distance when put to the test.
"Insurers offering expert underwriting systems will lead the way in the future. Those with pseudo electronic systems will prove to be not as capable moving forward. E-commerce is here to stay and everybody in the industry needs to embrace it.
"There are changes ahead in the way we need to write business, and that is the key moving forward," he said.
