UNDERWRITINGUNWRAPPED

Our underwriting process explained

When you apply for a protection product with us, your application will go through an assessment to determine whether you’re eligible for cover and the premium you should pay for it. This process is known as underwriting. All applications are underwritten, and most are accepted from the information you give us on your application form alone. By using technology and trained underwriters we make sure even the most complex cases are handled quickly.

This guide offers a broad overview of underwriting to help you understand our processes and what we need to consider before we can offer you cover.

WHAT IS UNDERWRITING?

It’s important you give us correct and

up-to-date information in your application

form. To help us make an underwriting

decision, we’ll ask you the following:

• past and present medical history

• height and weight

• family history

• smoking status, alcohol consumption

and lifestyle

• occupation

• overseas travel

We ask questions about the areas we know

are relevant to our assessment. You need

to answer these honestly and to the best

of your knowledge and belief. If we don’t

receive correct or complete information

in your application form, and if this

information would have changed our

original assessment of your application,

it could mean that we won’t be able to

pay out if you need to make a claim.

WHAT INFORMATION WILL WE ASK YOU FOR WHEN YOU APPLY?

FREE COVERWe want to make sure you’re protected

as soon as possible, so if your plan

doesn’t start straight away, we’ll offer

you Free Cover in the meantime. Free

Cover will start when we receive your

electronic application, as long as the

oldest person covered is under age 60.

If you send us a paper application form

and the information is incomplete or

direct debit information is missing then

Free Cover won’t start until we receive it.

Answer all questions honestly

and fully. It’s better to tell us too much than too little.

When completing online answers,

use keywords to find the medical

conditions from the dropdown list

provided. If you provide vague answers and don’t choose from the options provided, it’ll reduce your chances of getting an online decision, and our underwriters

might need to come back and

ask for more information.

Based on what you tell us, the online system will ask further detailed questions relevant

to the information given.

It’s important you include full GP details in the application. These details should include a

postcode and phone number.

If you’ve been with your GP for

less than six months, please include

full details of your previous GP.

THINGS TO REMEMBER WHEN COMPLETING YOUR APPLICATION

If we’ve asked you to complete an Access to Medical Reports Act form, please fill this out, sign it and return it as soon as possible

so that we can ask your doctor for

further medical information if

we need to. If you don’t it’ll hold

up your application for cover.

Once your application has been

submitted, you’ll be asked to review the answers. Please check all the information is correct. If anything’s not right, please let

us know as soon as possible.

If there’s a change to any

information you give us between

the date the information is given

and the date we start the plan,

you must let us know as it may affect the terms we give you.

We’ll always try to make a decision based on information you provide on the

application form, but there are some instances when we may need further

information before we can make an underwriting decision.

The table below provides more information on what we may ask for.

TYPES OF EVIDENCE WE MAY ASK FOR

TYPE OF EVIDENCE WHY DO WE REQUEST THIS? HOW LONG WILL THIS TAKE?

Client questionnaire When we need a bit more information from you

on a medical condition or hobby.

We’ll normally send this to you within two

days of receiving your application.

General Practitioner’s report (GPR) Where we need health information which a

customer may not be able to supply.

It could take six weeks for us to receive

a GP report.

Paramed/miniscreen We may need to get up-to-date measurements

of your height, weight, blood pressure and urine

test results.

The nurse, who carries this out on our

behalf, will be in touch with you within

5 days of us contacting them.

Tele-interview When you’ve told us about a health condition on

which we need more information, a nurse may

phone and ask further questions.

The tele-interview will be arranged within

5 days of receiving your application, and last

roughly 10 minutes.

Medical examination For large amounts of cover we’ll ask a doctor to

do similar measurements to the paramed but in

a little more depth.

We’ll normally request this within 5 days

of receiving your application.

Electrocardiograph (ECG) This is for very large amounts of cover, and checks

the electrical activity in the heart.

We’ll normally request this within 5 days

of receiving your application.

Blood or urine test For large amounts of cover, or if we need an up-to-date

measurement based on your medical history.

We’ll normally request this within 5 days

of receiving your application.

Cotinine test This shows whether nicotine products have

been used.

We’ll normally request this within 5 days

of receiving your application.

If you don’t get an immediate decision based on the information you’ve included in

your application it’s referred to an underwriter. It’s their job to decide whether to

accept your application and on what terms.

The table below shows the types of decisions that we could apply to your cover.

In some circumstances the underwriter may use a combination of these decisions.

The table below shows the types of decisions that we could apply to your cover. In some circumstances the underwriter may use a combination of these decisions.

TYPES OF UNDERWRITING DECISIONS

Standard rates

The underwriter has assessed all information and you show no evidence of increased

risk. This may also be referred to as ‘ordinary rates’ or ‘normal terms’.

Most of our applications are accepted at standard rates.

Postponed We’re currently unable to accept your application but may be able to offer

terms after a specified period has elapsed.

This could happen if you’re waiting for investigations or test results, or if

you’ve a history of a medical condition that requires a specified period of

time to have passed before cover is available. You can re-apply after the

date we specify in our decision letter.Non-standard terms

This means we haven’t been able to offer you cover at standard rates, or we’ve had

to restrict an element of the cover. This could be that we’ve applied a rating to

the premium, excluded a medical condition or pursuit, or part of the cover has

been removed. Accepted but financially restricted

Applications for larger amounts of cover are financially underwritten

to ensure the amount of cover requested is reasonable. In some cases we

may decide that we can’t offer the full amount of cover requested, but in

these cases we’ll contact your financial adviser and advise the levels of

cover we’re happy to offer you.

We’ll always ask for confirmation that any reduced level of cover is

acceptable before we alter or start the cover.

Rated The underwriter has identified that you show evidence of increased risk and we’ve

charged a higher premium to reflect this.

This could be as a result of your medical history, family history, hobbies, travel,

or your occupation.

Exclusion We’ve offered you cover with particular aspects excluded, such as a pre-existing

medical condition or a dangerous sport you take part in. If you submit a claim

for anything that’s been excluded we may not be able to consider it. You will,

however, still be covered for all other conditions.

Exclusions allow us to offer some degree of cover despite the area of increased risk.

Examples of exclusions that we may apply are:

• cancer

• back disorders

• mental health disorders

• mountaineering

Declined In some cases, we may not be able to offer any cover.

There are a number of reasons for this decision, but it’s normally because

we’ve decided the risk of a claim is too great. This doesn’t mean you won’t

be able to get insurance/protection from another provider. You should

discuss your options with your financial adviser.

AFTER YOUR PLAN STARTS

WHAT DO YOU NEED TO DO NOW?In most cases, nothing. Your premiums

will be collected on the date you’ve asked.

If we offered you cover on non-standard

terms or we charged smoker rates, and

you change your occupation, leisure

activities or lifestyle (e.g. stop smoking),

you can ask us to review the terms for

your cover. If we can, we’ll change the

terms of your cover to reflect this change

in lifestyle, which may mean reducing

your premium or removing an exclusion.

If we can’t change the terms of your

cover, we’ll explain why.

POST ISSUE SAMPLINGAs part of our underwriting process,

we carry out post issue sampling on

some applications which have been

accepted without medical evidence by

asking for a report from your doctor.

If your answers in the application form

are correct, there will be no impact on

your cover and we’ll let your financial

adviser know that we’ve completed the

process. If there are any inconsistencies

found, we can correct these now instead

of discovering this if/when we assess your

claim and we’ll update the underwriting

decision on your plan.

Post issue sampling won’t delay your

application and your cover will remain

in place while we carry this out.

If you’ve any further questions about your

application or our underwriting decision,

please speak to your financial adviser.

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by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. The firm is on the Financial Services Register,

registration number 117672. It provides life assurance and pensions. Registered in England and Wales, company number

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