Zurich Australia has launched a new adviser portal which has incorporated the quoting, application and client management facilities of its predecessor into a single online tool.
The Zurich Adviser Portal was built in conjunction with life insurance research firm Omnium, user-experience specialists Jade Software and UnderwriteMe, and uses the latter’s underwriting rules engines to increase the rate of straight-through-processing on insurance applications.
This is accomplished through the use of an automated pre-assessment tool built within to the platform, which also allows advisers to manage client details, request updates to policy details, and offers real time tracking of their progress.
The new portal replaces the existing ZLife platform, which was launched in May 2016, as well as the desktop quoting software ZXpress and both will be phased out over time but advisers will be able to use their existing log-in details to access the new portal.
The development of the portal was overseen by Zurich Head of Digital, Marc Fabris and included extensive adviser input at all stages.
“We conducted extensive beta testing with a panel of advisers and witnessed dramatic improvements in the information capture process, which saw higher overall completion rates and faster turnaround times”’ Fabris said, adding the new platform would aid practice efficiency and improve the client experience.
Zurich Head of Propositions, Tim Howell said the quoting and application process was considered lengthy and complex when implementing life insurance advice and feedback from advisers indicated the need for improvement.
“Along with our partners…we were able to tap into deep user insights about quoting software across the market to identify priority areas, such as side-by-side policy comparisons, navigation within applications and simplifying the process of adding and removing optional benefits,” Howell said.
Zurich is the fourth life insurance business this year to adopt the UnderwriteMe after MLC Life, CommInsure and NEOS Life.
