In the world of health insurance, the medical and insurance professions inevitably have to meet at ...
In the world of health insurance, the medical and insurance professions inevitably have to meet at times. Whether it is to discuss genetics and insurance, air the rights and wrongs of medical questioning on application forms or debate the rocketing price of GP reports - a colourful discussion is often unavoidable. As both professions work to strict principles, opinions often clash and compromise is essential, if not sometimes hard to reach.
In light of this, it is refreshing to see both the Association of British Insurers (ABI) and the British Medical Association rooting from the same corner in support of the new electronic GP report (EGPR) initiative. Plans for the scheme were revealed at COVER's latest Think Tank roundtable, which set out to discuss the future role of technology.
During the debate, The Exchange revealed it is launching a service that will enable product providers to request and receive GPRs online. This should significantly reduce the time needed for insurers to receive medical information about applicants, while taking up less of GPs' time. Cutting lengthy waits for medical notes should also benefit intermediaries and their clients, helping applicants get on risk quicker.
The cost of GPRs has been seen as an increasing burden on insurers. With a European ruling threatening to make GPRs liable for VAT, the ABI has already warned that rising costs could soon be translated into higher premiums. Any initiative that helps bring costs down, while getting applicants on-risk quicker has to be applauded. But the proof of its success will undoubtedly lie in all insurers and GPs embracing the new system. Hopefully this won't take too much time to achieve.
Kirstie Redford, editor
