Royal London expands Underwrite Later

Royal London is expanding its Underwrite Later approach to a wider range of products from today (11 April), following on from the success of its launch last year.

The mutual insurer has added the Underwrite Later option to Life Cover on personal menu plans with a sum assured from £1m up to £3.5m, and Whole of Life (WOL) plans from £0.5m and up to £3.5m. The added option also applies to Joint Life policies where both lives are eligible.

Introduced in January 2021 for Life cover on Business and Relevant Life plans, Underwrite Later allows clients to get cover while medical evidence is being obtained.

During the underwriting period, Royal London will lock in customers’ age and health, so that if their birthday falls within 6 months of cover starting, or their health changes, premiums won’t increase, and cover won’t be affected.

Customers applying for Underwrite Later online will now also have the option to select a start date up to 30 days in future, available on personal protection, WOL, Business Protection and Relevant Life plans.

Royal London confirmed last month that 94% of all Life Cover on Business and Relevant Life Plans could be put into force without waiting for medical evidence.

Jennifer Gilchrist, protection specialist at Royal London, said:

“Since we launched Underwrite Later in January last year, we’ve seen take up of the option go from strength to strength. We have seen a significant boost to the number of applications we can start without the need to get medical evidence, from around 50% to nearly every case.

“As we expand Underwrite Later we’ll be able to offer cover to even more clients. It’s a simple solution that speeds up the onboarding process and makes applications easier, without putting extra pressure on already overburdened GPs and the NHS.

“We’re looking forward to making insurance even more accessible in 2022 and beyond through our Underwrite Later initiative.”

Rob Harvey, protection product specialist at Protection Guru, said:

“Underwrite Later is something we’ve been a fan of at Protection Guru since it first launched, so it’s great to see Royal London extend this to personal life cover and Whole of Life. Given the importance in ensuring clients are protected with the minimum of delay – and the very real risk of claims arising whilst an application is in underwriting – we believe Underwrite Later is something all advisers should take advantage of when available.”