Ellipse has revealed a first look for the whole market at its automated medical underwriting process which takes underwriting forms out of advisers' hands by contacting members directly.
The specialist group risk insurer is currently working with just a few advisers before fully launching in the final quarter of the year.
Its online system will be used for clients applying for benefit levels above the guaranteed acceptance limits, and the provider hopes it will cut typical turnaround times to minutes, rather than weeks or months.
Emails are sent directly to the members concerned explaining the need for the assessment and inviting them to complete a ‘reflexive' online questionnaire, which adapts itself to the information they provide.
After completing, the cover is confirmed immediately for the majority of members, while those who require further medical information will be notified and contacted by Medicals Direct.
Peter Fenner, communications manager at Ellipse, explained how the system could help those employees who should be covered for higher benefit levels.
"There are quite a lot of top people in companies who are actually on lower benefits than they could have because the underwriting process never gets completed," he says.
"They just sort of give up on it because it takes so long. And that can be for various reasons; because their time is too occupied with other things or because there's a report being awaited from a doctor that can take a long time to come through, so it just falls off the radar.
"We're doing it online so they can complete it in a few minutes and get a decision then," he adds.
Fenner also believes the system will be a boost to advisers by taking the paperwork and time spent chasing medical reports away from them.
"We think the info is needed from the member so let's go straight to the member and find out what it is," he says.
"And we think that should help the adviser because there's no particular gain and in fact it costs them time and therefore money to chase up medical info and it doesn't really seem a good fit with the rest of their business.
"So by dealing with it direct it frees them up to dealing with the things they do want to want to be involved in - providing advice, earning commission, earning fees," he adds.
The preview can be seen at: www.ellipse.co.uk/competition.
