ANZ has redesigned its underwriting capabilities and has introduced a predictive capability which will make the process faster and easier for tradespeople seeking life insurance cover.
As part of the redesign, ANZ worked with the University of Technology, Sydney Advanced Analytics Institute to analyse 10 years of claims, underwriting and policy data and looked at places where the three data sources overlapped, according to ANZ Wealth chief underwriter, Peter Tilocca.
“By working backwards from the claims history and seeking out commonalities in this data set, we have been able to reduce underwriting personal statements while maintaining the integrity of our insurance portfolio,” Tilocca said, adding that the number of medical questions in the underwriting process for the full OneCare product suite had been reduced to eight.
The predictive capabilities were tested under a pilot program in Victoria, and have now been extended to advisers across Australia and will be available to licensed tradespeople aged between 20 and 40 years of age who, Tilocca said, would now have access to an underwriting program that uses big data and artificial intelligence to identify factors common to this group.
“…we have been able to reduce underwriting personal statements while maintaining the integrity of our insurance portfolio…”
“The underwriting process today is at best described as cumbersome, and in a world where the consumer now expects instant gratification, an underwriting time frame average of 20 to 30 days will no longer be acceptable,” he said.
The new predictive capability will be available to advisers under the current tools offered by ANZ and follows the launch of its Pre-Assessment Wizard which identifies loadings and exclusions for pre-existing medical conditions in real-time (see: OneCare Launches Real Time Pre-Assessment Tool).
ANZ has also added online claims functionality to its OnePath life insurance adviser portal OneView Life that will allow advisers to notify ANZ of a client’s intention to lodge a claim so it can be triaged and the claims process started quickly.
As part of the new functionality, advisers will also be able to monitor the status of a client’s claim as well as their payment history and will be able to track medical requests facilitated by UHG for life insurance applications.
The addition are part of ongoing extensions to the OneView Life adviser portal that was launched late last year (see: ANZ Wealth Insurance Portal Goes Mobile).
