Insular Life Assurance Company Ltd., the largest Filipino-owned life insurance company, took the lead in utilizing technology to speed up the insurance policy application process, as it recently launched the first automated underwriting system in the Philippines.
The new AU system is accessed through the company’s online agent portal and is linked to Insular Life’s My Proposal system.
Under the setup, an Insular Life financial advisor can underwrite a customer as soon as the latter decides on a product. The automated process ends with an underwriting decision that can be communicated right away to the client.
“The application process and the delivery of the new policy are much faster. The system cuts the waiting period, from the previous two to three days, to as short as a few minutes for an underwriting decision to be given,” said Insular Life president and chief operating officer Mona Lisa De La Cruz.
The AU system uses a rules-based underwriting engine that is integrated with Insular Life’s online proposal and application tools.
This allows the company’s other systems to quickly render an underwriting decision in the process. The system is supported by the AllFinanz Interview Server of Munich Re Automation Solutions, the world leading software provider of new business underwriting solutions to the life insurance industry.
“The use of the automated underwriting system is increasing steadily worldwide,” said De La Cruz, adding that it was untapped in the Philippines until the launch of their system recently.
De la Cruz said the opportunities that automated underwriting gave insurance companies was considerable – from widening distribution channels and shortening the sales cycle, to increasing business administrative efficiency.
“Since adapting the automated underwriting, we have been able to generate a significant amount over P100 million of new business as a direct result of using the AU System,” she said.
De la Cruz said for Insular Life, the more important benefit of the system was the bespoke customer experience it brought. “Automated underwriting allows us to better serve our clients by offering a wider range of products that are more suited to their profiles and needs, with much faster delivery times,” she said.