Royal London introduces new service to help reduce delays in obtaining GP reports

• New partnership enhancement with iGPR aims to streamline medical evidence gathering and improve the underwriting experience for advisers and clients.

Royal London is introducing Magic Service through its existing partnership with medical evidence provider iGPR in a move designed to streamline the way GP reports are obtained and help reduce delays during the underwriting process.

GP reports play an important role in some underwriting decisions, helping insurers assess applications and ensure customers receive the cover that best meets their needs. However, obtaining medical evidence can often involve administrative processes and delays while information is gathered from GP surgeries.

Magic Service will enable GP report requests to be issued electronically and managed digitally from start to finish. Under the new arrangement, iGPR will also take responsibility for liaising with and following up with GP surgeries for outstanding reports, helping to reduce manual administration and improve efficiency throughout the process. The enhancement also supports a broad range of medical report types through a single digital process, helping reduce complexity when additional evidence is required.

The new service is designed to support faster underwriting decisions by making medical evidence easier to obtain and assess. By reducing the need for manual chasing of GP reports, Royal London's underwriting teams can spend more time supporting advisers and progressing applications.

This latest enhancement reflects Royal London’s continued investment in underwriting and focus on improving the adviser journey. By moving to a fully digital process, the enhancement also reduces reliance on paper-based medical evidence requests.

Craig Paterson, Chief Underwriter at Royal London, said:

"Delays in obtaining GP reports can be frustrating for advisers and clients alike and can contribute to longer underwriting journeys.

"Electronic GP reports are typically returned significantly faster than traditional paper-based requests, helping reduce waiting times from around a month to little more than a week in many cases. Faster access to medical evidence can help applications progress more quickly and improve the experience for both advisers and clients.

"It's another practical step in our commitment to continuously improve underwriting and make it easier for advisers to do business with Royal London."

Claire Reeves, Co-Founder of iGPR, said:

"We're pleased to be expanding our relationship with Royal London through the introduction of Magic Service.

"The service is designed to digitise and simplify the GP report process, helping insurers obtain medical information more efficiently while reducing administrative burden.

"By managing requests electronically and working directly with GP practices, we aim to create a faster and more transparent experience for advisers, clients and insurers alike."

The introduction of Magic Service follows wider industry efforts to improve the way medical information is requested and obtained from GP surgeries. Royal London identified opportunities to simplify what had previously been a largely manual process involving multiple hand-offs, follow-ups and administrative activity.

The new service is intended to create a more consistent and streamlined approach to obtaining GP reports while supporting advisers and customers through the application process.