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Beyond the Phone Interview
Point of Sale Underwriting
While expert systems are making in roads to providing instant underwriting decisions, point of sale underwriting allows companies to offer near instant underwriting decisions on a larger number of applications.
Since June of 2000, IBU has employed experienced underwriters who conduct thousands of teleinterviews and teleunderwriting interviews every month. While we continue these services today, the introduction of voice signatures, e-signatures as well as instantly accessed data has made point of sale underwriting a reality for life insurers.
IBU underwriters access MIB,Rx and other data while on the telephone with the applicant. This allows the IBU underwriter to ask the application health questions as well as any relevant follow up questions needed to make a decision.
Point of Sale Underwriting
Leads to Greater Profitability
Point of sale underwriting using experienced IBU underwriters is serving the industry on two fronts. One front is in helping companies profitably write smaller face amount products. Agents and consumers are really responding to obtaining insurance coverage (and commissions) quickly. Companies utilizing this strategy are penetrating the underserved middle market and are profitably putting more policies in force.
The second front is in the simplified issue market. Many companies have experienced adverse mortality results in this market. They are looking for that inexpensive “extra dose” of underwriting.
Experienced underwriters on the telephone with the applicants will most likely illicit full disclosure as they are able to quickly synthesize MIB and Rx data and ask follow up questions to the applicant. An IBU underwriter’s “gut instincts” can usually tell when something doesn't seem right. There is a powerful sentinel effect at work which makes less than honest agents take their tricks to other companies who don't have experienced underwriters on the phone with their insurance applicants.