Protection and health insurer, The Exeter, has announced the launch of a new, purpose built system to assess claims.

In partnership with UnderwriteMe, the system will streamline the income protection claims process for the first time in the UK market, and improve service efficiencies.

It is one of several initiatives that The Exeter is undertaking in 2023 to enhance the overall customer service experience of its members and intermediary customers.

The Exeter has today launched the use of the engine for income protection claims, with coverage expanding to claims made on its real life policies in early 2024. The engine will offer a more personalised claims experience to members by tailoring claims questions and cutting end-to-end turnaround times for payments. It also gives The Exeter greater capacity to offer instant decisions at the point of claim.

UnderwriteMe’s system will support The Exeter’s expert claims assessors in gathering as much information as possible from an initial phone conversation with a claimant, generating a tailored set of questions based on the cause of the claim and the conversation.

The Exeter’s customer service director, Claire Hird, said: “We are pleased to announce the launch of our new partnership with UnderwriteMe, which we believe will help deliver an even better experience for our members at the point of claim.

“The system provides our claims assessors with a more complete view of the member’s product details and uses responsive questions to help them make quicker decisions. The ability to fast-track a claim for payment for those members with a day one or week one deferred period is hugely exciting and aims to provide faster payments to those who will experience an immediate drop in income if they are unable to work due to illness or injury.

“These developments allow us to balance the efficiencies that technology can add to our business with our desire to continue providing a personal service to our members and intermediaries.”

UnderwriteMe director of business development, Simon Jacobs, added: “UnderwriteMe is delighted to be working in partnership with The Exeter. As an industry, we’ve spent a considerable amount of time and investment in making the underwriting process a far better experience for our customers.

“As part of this, we’ve made the application questions more intuitive to meet the needs of the customer whilst speeding up decision making times and improving decision consistency.”

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