'Simple' product for online sales

Sovereign is launching Simple Life, a new type of insurance product designed to meet the needs of younger customers purchasing online.

Friday, March 11th 2016, 6:00AM

by Susan Edmunds

At the moment it is available through ASB as Easy Life and Living and via a pilot trial through Global Financial Services.

It will soon be made available to eligible Sovereign advisers.

Simple Life is a non-underwritten, online insurance product providing a simple range of benefits including life cover, loan and rent cover, and redundancy cover up to certain limited levels.

It relies on policy exclusions including a five-year pre-existing condition exclusion and a hazardous activities exclusion to manage the risk of the clients cover.

Sovereign said it would give advisers a powerful opportunity to create relationships with a market not traditionally attracted to advisers and who preferred to purchase digitally.

As soon as applicants click "submit", they are guaranteed to be accepted for cover. Any pre-existing condition or hazardous activity that they have had treatment for or have been involved in in the last five years is excluded.

Industry consultant Darrin Franks, who is working with GFS on the product, said the problem of "not taken up" policies was a big one for the industry.

He said it was usually because customers did not accept the terms offered by an insurer, the risk was deferred because the underwriters could not make a decision, or the client was simply declined for cover.

He said GFS research estimated up to 40% of applications fell into this category.

"I've long held the view that manufacturers need to be better at manufacturing and this was probably the first example I'd seen in a long time of a manufacturer truly trying to manufacture something that would have a positive outcome rather than just tinkering around the edges."

The product pays 40% upfront commission and 20% on renewal to advisers.

Franks said the higher premiums would be acceptable to customers who would otherwise have to pay a higher loading from another insurer or who were so time-poor that they did not want to go through a full application process.

Sovereign is encouraging those who are interested to contact their BDMs.

Tags: Sovereign