EQ Pathology has appointed co-founder Andie Anquillano as Chief Technology Officer, bringing her into the business full-time to lead the next phase of development for its HealthIQ platform.
Anquillano, who helped establish the firm in 2018, has been advising on the company’s technology strategy while also serving as Technology Manager at wine group Vinarchy. Her appointment follows EQ Pathology’s growing footprint among Australian life insurance businesses, including Acenda and NEOS, says EQ Pathology’s CEO Stephen Clarkson.
He says the firm operates at one of life insurance underwriting’s most significant pressure points, the efficient and reliable collection of medical evidence. Clarkson says around 42% of life insurance applicants require medical evidence, a process that can take a month or more.
According to publicly reported results from Acenda, underwriting turnaround times have fallen at the firm from about 30 days to around 10 days since it adopted the HealthIQ platform. Nearly 80% of reports are returned complete, without the need for follow-up, said Clarkson.
The HealthIQ platform replaces handwritten medical reports with structured, machine-readable data captured directly from doctors. The company also has 160 nurses on call nationwide to collect medical data and blood samples from insurance applicants.
While nurses use a company app to upload clinical data, doctors enter medical information online via a series of mandatory fields designed to reduce ambiguity for underwriters. The platform can also be customised, allowing insurers to specify exactly what information they require.
Clarkson said the shift to structured data has been foundational for the automation of insurance underwriting and claims.
