Aviva's online resource creates a simple way for advisers to improve their underwriting knowledge.
Aviva has launched an online resource for advisers that will make the application process for life, critical illness and income protection insurance smoother for them and their clients.
The Adviser Underwriting Centre is a free learning resource available through the "Aviva for Advisers" site. The centre is packed with everything that advisers need to know when helping clients complete a protection proposal. It includes a useful guide to the type of medical evidence Aviva is likely to need, and what the decision is likely to be if the client has a medical condition such as asthma, or has had a heart attack.
Advisers can test their knowledge of medical conditions, with a certificate awarded for their personal development.
Other features include:
- A medical learning zone providing information about the human body and the conditions that affect it.
- Guidance on the medical evidence Aviva is likely to need for the 15 most common medical conditions.
- Guidance on the effect these conditions have on underwriting decisions.
The launch of the Aviva Underwriting Centre supports Aviva’s commitment to minimising non-disclosure within the industry and complements the already successful "what-if" line1, which Aviva launched in 2006. The centre helps advisers build relevant medical knowledge, enabling them to arm themselves with detailed information about the conditions that might affect their clients, supporting meetings with customers and helping them complete application forms more accurately.
Richard Verdin, director of protection at Aviva, said: “The Aviva Adviser Underwriting Centre provides a new level of support for advisers selling protection business. Advisers who use the centre can develop an understanding of underwriting that will help them to advise clients on the non-financial aspects of protection. If their client has a medical condition, or has had one in the past, it can be difficult to know how it might affect the premium they’ll pay, or whether they’ll be accepted at all.
“The Adviser Underwriting Centre will help make the application process simpler and quicker by enabling advisers to find out how their clients’ medical conditions might affect their application, and what information they should include when applying.”
-ends-
For further information, please contact:
David Gwyer: 01904 452659 / 07800 693187
Email: david.gwyer@aviva.co.uk
¹ Aviva has taken over 72,000 calls on its "what-if" line since its launch in 2006, and more than 20,000 calls since the beginning of 2010. The "what-if" line is a service for advisers enabling them to speak to an underwriter before the submission of an application form and obtain details of how a customer’s condition or occupation might affect underwriting decisions.
Notes to editors
Aviva is the world’s sixth largest* insurance group, serving 53 million customers across Europe, North America and Asia Pacific.
Aviva's main business activities are long-term savings, fund management and general insurance, with worldwide total sales of £45.1 billion and funds under management of £379 billion at 31 December 2009.
We are the largest insurance services provider in the UK and one of the leading providers of life and pensions products in Europe.
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*based on gross worldwide premiums at 31 December 2009