Moving forwards
FRIENDS® is committed to providing outstanding service and products that meet advisers and their clients’ ever changing needs.
Outstanding Service
We don’t believe in standing still. Since 2003 our award-winning eSelect® online services have been fine-tuned, enhanced and evolved to meet your needs and your clients’.
eSelect is a highly intuitive underwriting system, which offers complete end-to-end new business submission for life, critical illness and income protection. The system can accept many applications instantly, and can issue a client’s policy on standard terms, with a rating or exclusion as appropriate. In 2008, 57% of cases received a decision on eSelect without any further evidence required.
To ensure that eSelect meets the ongoing demands and needs of advisers, our dedicated development team is solely focused on strengthening the system’s capabilities. Since 2003, we have worked on the underwriting logic of eSelect to ensure that it can make more immediate online decisions. By applying our unique underwriting philosophy, the system is now more intuitive and will decide on the extent of questioning needed for further disclosure.
Recent developments also include the addition of Event Manager and an alteration from inception functionality. Advisers can link eSelect directly into their business and there is no longer a need for manual updating of back office systems. When a client’s policy goes ‘live’ adviser back office systems are automatically updated.
Event manager not only helps to manage the process for new business, it also helps manage an adviser’s client bank. For instance it will let you know if a client’s direct debits have been cancelled. A brilliant tool in these current times when more focus is on retaining existing clients as the amount of new business drops with the fall in new mortgages. This gives advisers the opportunity to contact the client and may save the business from lapsing.
Flexibility is also another important feature that is a focus for FRIENDS®. Alteration from inception allows a client’s details to be amended up to 90 days after their initial application for cover. If a client changes their address, bank details, or wants to increase their level of cover then it’s easy for advisers to go into eSelect and make these changes. No time is wasted in writing new application forms.
We have also broadened the product range available on eSelect with the addition of income protection (IP) on the platform in 2008. eSelect makes it easy for advisers to quote and apply for a product that has always been seen as hard to write due to the perceived difficulties around its underwriting. If no further evidence is needed then the customer can be put on risk straightaway.
It also helps with the more technical aspects of our income protection product such as calculating split deferred cases and maximum benefit. eSelect makes it easy to calculate the figures for a client ensuring they get the cover they need.
Enhanced Products
FRIENDS® are not only expanding the range of products online but are also constantly improving these products. We know that the needs of your target customers are ever changing and we have developed our products to reflect this.
To account for changing retirement legislation FRIENDS® has increased the ceasing age for our IP product to age 70 for individual IP and age 65 for our doctors IP product. Many providers product’s fail to reflect that for the first five years of a doctor’s career the NHS provision is greatly restricted, it may not cover even basic living expenses. FRIENDS® product however has been designed to work alongside the NHS sick pay initiative and provide adequate benefit to newly qualified doctors. It also offers cover during any sabbatical leave that a doctor wishes to take.
FRIENDS® has also recently revamped its Critical Illness Cover (CIC) by extending the list of conditions covered under its plan by seven to 36 in total. We have also extended the maximum policy term to 40 years and the age at which plans can end to age 70.
About Friends Provident
For more information about eSelect, visit www.friendsprovident.com/ifa/eselect
FRIENDS® is a leading Protection provider and are continually striving to provide the best products and services for our advisers and their clients. Our commitment to provide products that meet clients ever changing needs and our wealth of experience in providing these products on a quality technology platform, can only make life even easier for you and your clients alike.