British Friendly launches 'Immediate Acceptance' application

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Income protection provider British Friendly has launched a new online application process for financial advisers.

The new system allows qualifying applications to be accepted immediately at the point of sale, without any further underwriting information being requested.

Mark Myers, chief executive of British Friendly said the improvement was based upon adviser feedback.

To qualify for "Immediate Acceptance" applicants need to apply for 1 or 2 year cover. They must be aged 45 years or under and the benefit selected must be £300 per week or less (or £1,300 per month or less).

When applying online, advisers will be able to complete a short series of lifestyle and health questions, which could then offer immediate acceptance without the need for further underwriting.

Ricky Butler, head of performance at LifeSearch, said: "We welcome this new faster system from British Friendly as it means customers can be covered much sooner. It is designed for younger, healthier and generally lower risk applicants who can now be covered immediately without any further medical underwriting.

"Overall it provides a quicker; better journey for our customers as well as reducing administration for advisers."

Kesh Thukaram, director of Best Insurance, added: " We were the first adviser firm to use the new system.

"We believe it will save us around up to ten hours per week on average, per adviser, in reduced administration time."

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