Winnipeg-based Great-West Life Assurance Company and its subsidiaries London Life and Canada Life are taking steps to make the process of applying for individual insurance policies easier and more efficient for advisors and clients.

Great-West Life announced on Tuesday the introduction of New Business Now – a new application process that is expected to reduce the time it takes to issue new policies by up to one-third, on average.

“All of our individual insurance business processes have been streamlined and the individual insurance organization has been re-aligned to support this entirely new way of doing business,” said Nick Pszeniczny, executive vice president of individual distribution and marketing for Great-West Life, London Life and Canada Life. “Advisors and clients can expect quicker policy issue times, less paperwork for individual insurance applications and new user-friendly methods that will improve how clients and advisors apply for life insurance.”

The new application process, which is available through Great-West Life, London Life and Canada Life, includes:

  • A new online insurance application for life, critical illness and disability insurance products, including a responsive underwriting program that generates questions based on the applicant’s previous responses;
  • The flexibility to complete applications via desktop computer, laptop, iPad or other tablet technology, in addition to the companies’ existing paper and tele-application options;
  • The ability to apply for up to six lives and multiple individual insurance products in a single application, using electronic signatures, for greater convenience;
  • Technology-enhanced underwriting with a rules-based engine, for faster decisions;
  • Automated ordering when additional medical information is required, for faster turnaround;
  • Automated email alerts to keep advisors informed of the status of their client’s application at every stage of the process;
  • Instant decision and approval for web applications that meet specific criteria; and,
  • Imaging of documents for faster processing, moving closer toward a paperless environment.

The goal is to make the application process smoother for insurance advisors, who have long been challenged by time intensive, administration-heavy application processes and procedures in the insurance industry, according to Great-West Life.

Under the new process, underwriting is done in real time. In some instances, qualified clients who are applying for life insurance policies less than $250,000, or critical illness and disability insurance policies up to $50,000 and $1,500 per month, respectively, will be approved instantly, and will have the option of making the initial payment by credit card.

“While some carriers offer elements of our individual insurance new business offering, no other insurer provides the entire suite of services we are rolling out,” Pszeniczny said.