VitalityLife launches Optimiser Underwriting

The process will be used for clients opting for Vitality Optimiser and Wellness Optimiser plans, which allow clients who engage in healthy behaviours to control their premiums throughout the life of their plan.

VitalityLife launches Optimiser Underwriting

VitalityLife has launched Optimiser Underwriting, an underwriting process resulting in a quicker customer journey and reduced up-front underwriting.

The process will be used for clients opting for Vitality Optimiser and Wellness Optimiser plans, which allow clients who engage in healthy behaviours to control their premiums throughout the life of their plan.

The underwriting is designed to be used with a range of products including term life, whole of life and serious illness cover. Applications for life and serious illness cover only have five medical questions requiring completion.

Deepak Jobanputra, deputy chief executive at VitalityLife, said: “Our Optimiser range is providing VitalityLife with a huge advantage in providing an easier underwriting journey because we’re able to apply behavioural and health science data to the process.

“This data provides us with a better understanding of the risks and allows us to pass on that learning to the benefit of our clients and advisers.

“With Optimiser Underwriting we’ve enhanced our proposition by improving the customer journey and experience with a reduction in the often onerous underwriting requirements, reducing the time it takes for clients to apply.

“This is the first in a series of improvements we’re planning to make to our underwriting process and we’re looking forward to announcing these to the market in the coming months.”

More than 90% of all Optimiser applications are expected to benefit from the new underwriting process and, with currently over 70% of all life business received based on either Vitality Optimiser or Wellness Optimiser.

Three out of four new VitalityLife plans are sold with an Optimiser option in place.

Since the launch of Vitality Optimiser five years ago, VitalityLife has collected millions of life years of mortality and morbidity data as well as two billion health activities such as gym visits and hitting daily step targets.

The company has used this vast amount of behavioural and health science data to develop Optimiser Underwriting, which is the first of a number of underwriting improvements to be introduced.