By Shelby Hollister-Share | June 24, 2020 at 11:53 PM
The author makes the case that the new underwriting strategies
will continue after the COVID-19 pandemic is over.
The coronavirus pandemic and social distancing
measures have changed how we do business across industries — and insurance
underwriting is no exception.
Typically, life insurance underwriting
requires a thorough medical examination (as anyone who has ever applied for a
policy will know well). This involves an in-person visit, allowing the medical
examiner to conduct a blood pressure reading, weight check, blood draw and
more. But as we shelter in place and limit contact with others, clients don’t
need to head into a lab or invite examiners into their homes.
At the same time, the need for financial
protection and guidance hasn’t gone away — so as insurers, we need to adapt to
this new normal to ensure we are still able to help clients protect their
families and take control of what they are able to, even amidst uncertainty.
How Technology Is
Easing the Process
The good news: Many tools already exist to
help underwriters overcome these new challenges posed by social distancing. And
people are looking for life insurance protection now, more than ever. In fact,
at Equitable, we received 6,000 applications in March and April alone that we’re
currently underwriting.
But without open labs, insurers need to adopt
solutions to provide clients with the life insurance coverage they need, even
when traditional underwriting processes can’t be met.
Enter claims data from medical insurance
carriers. Insurers can look through this data to see if clients applying have
recently have blood drawn, what kinds of pre-existing conditions they have, and
more, and use that as a substitution for a real-time, up-close-and-personal
exam and lab draw.
Another option: Partnering with a lab to send
out saliva self-testing kits, similar to what applicants might be familiar with
if they’ve taken genetic tests. This is quick, easy, painless and private —
there’s no third party there in the room.
Underwriting isn’t the only thing getting a
boost from technology — it’s also streamlining the entire process of acquiring
a new life insurance policy, from the initial conversation to assess a client’s
needs to the final, delivered policy.
Scheduling visits virtually can be a much
smoother process, since clients and their spouses are typically spending more
time at home and can much more easily align their schedules for an appointment
with their financial professionals. By involving more family members in the
process, Equitable Advisors Financial Professionals have been able to help
clients truly assess their needs and create potential strategies for the whole
family.
The Challenges
Underwriting Technology Poses
Despite the benefits, new methods can’t be
implemented without challenges. As insurers use data from claims and a
multitude of other sources to get their clients the life insurance policies
they need, quickly and without invasive measures, the issues of cybersecurity
and privacy need to be addressed — especially given the sensitive nature of the
data they’re dealing with.
To protect client data, it’s imperative that
insurers thoroughly review any vendors they work with, as well as give clients
access to their own information. We do our best to ensure clients understand
that their privacy is always top-of-mind for us, and we are taking consistent
and comprehensive measures to protect it.
What’s Next for
Underwriting Technology
The pandemic continues to accelerate us
further into the future of work. As we continue to underwrite life insurance
policies – even from a safe distance – the future of underwriting is edging
closer, too.
Even once the pandemic one day eases, we can
expect to see a smoother underwriting process across the board. Numerous
insurance carriers — Equitable Financial Life Insurance Company and Equitable
Financial Life Insurance Company of America included – already have streamlined
programs.
We’ll also likely see more relationships with
vendors who have the right tools and offerings to make underwriting processes
low-touch. Finally, technology continues to evolve at a breakneck pace. Even if
carriers do continue to require physical data, technology will still be able to
help. Getting information through a swab to the mouth now may be replaced by
something as simple as sharing the data from health-related apps and trackers
on your smartphone with your carrier.
One thing is for sure: The tools we’re talking
about using now — in the middle of a crisis — are not going to go away. They’re
just going to get better and better. Insurers are likely going to keep
expanding more and more into this technological, no-touch environment, and one
day — once social distancing measures have been lifted — will be able to
provide clients with a comprehensive set of high- and low-touch underwriting
options that fit their preferences.
Shelby Hollister-Share is head of life underwriting
at Equitable.
Equitable is the brand name of Equitable Holdings Inc. and its family of
companies, including Equitable Financial Life Insurance Company (Equitable
Financial) and Equitable Financial Life Insurance Company of America (Equitable
America), an Arizona stock company with main administrative headquarters in
Jersey City, New Jersey.
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