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The firm’s new Diabetes Life Cover product is underpinned by the Kalibre insurtech platform, which uses an innovative risk assessment approach supported by continuous underwriting. People with type 1 and type 2 diabetes often face a lengthy process when applying for cover due to requests for medical evidence, which can mean it takes weeks before an application is accepted. But the new product, which is available from a small number of adviser firms with plans to launch to the wider market later this year, will make it easier to secure life cover at the point of sale. Available to people with high HbA1c levels, the product has built-in flexibility to reduce premiums by up to 40 per cent to reflect how well the customer is managing their diabetes by sharing their annual HbA1c test result. Premiums are guaranteed never to rise higher than the starting premium to give clients certainty that they will be able to maintain their cover. Debbie Kennedy, group head of protection strategy at Royal London, said: “According to Diabetes UK over 4 million people in the UK are living with diabetes. Securing life cover for people who have been diagnosed with a chronic condition is not always straightforward and can involve detailed medical questionnaires, followed by exclusions, additional premiums or being declined cover, depending on the nature of their condition and how well they manage their health. “We built our proposition to support these types of customers as the process of applying is one of the main reasons they give for not taking out life cover. At Royal London, we want to provide products and services that help customers with chronic conditions get the cover they need at an affordable premium.” Tony Larkins, managing director at East Anglia-based Beacon Wealth Management, commented: “Any advance in underwriting is welcome, and if they have a way of doing that that is quicker, then it is definitely a good thing. “You would not just go on the quicker underwriting but on the premiums and the standard of the underwriting in general, but any advance is welcome.” Source: https://www.ftadviser.com/Articles/2017/04/24/FTA-Royal-London-diabetes-life-cover  

A South African company that has teamed up with one of Warren Buffett’s businesses is unveiling a specialist insurance product in the UK. Insurtech firm AllLife is launching a life insurance product for diabetics, partnering with Royal London and Gen Re, part of Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway group. Royal London will underwrite the policies, which will be reinsured by Gen Re, Business Insider UK reported. Want the latest insurance industry news first? Sign up for our completely free newsletter service now AllLife uses an algorithmic pricing platform for its insurance product. According to CEO and founder Ross Beerman, the technology pulls a “vast amount” of medical data and lets the company automate “most of the stuff that life insurance companies are doing manually.” The platform also allows AllLife to adjust premiums based on user behavior. Beerman says the company can intervene in people’s health, from medication to physical activities. “We tell people, don’t forget to do this, you should really do this — we do that through text message, emails, sometimes calls. We intervene,” Beerman told Business Insider UK. Beerman added: “Just interacting, just caring, just reminding people to do the right thing, actually has an impact on their health whether or not they do the thing you ask them to do. We can see a correlation.” Source: https://www.insurancebusinessmag.com/uk/news/technology/insurtech-firm-backed-by-warren-buffett-enters-uk-65844.aspx