VitalityLife has come up with an industry-first solution that seeks to improve the blood testing process that protection insurance applicants undergo.
The insurer has introduced finger-prick testing to the UK life insurance market, a procedure that will not be using big needles to enhance customer experience.
In this method, blood samples that are required during underwriting will be obtained by a simple finger-prick test rather than by hypodermic syringe.
The blood test will be held at a place convenient for the client such as their home and is seen to benefit customers.
Finger-prick testing will speed up the release of exam results, which will become available within seconds. Previously, the samples would have to be sent to a lab, taking four to five days to produce results.
The new method will also avoid the risk of having “spoilt samples,” a common problem for life insurers when a blood sample is delayed reaching the laboratory, requiring a re-test.
Darren Lee, VitalityLife director of underwriting and claims, said they are the first life insurer in UK to introduce this type of blood testing.
Lee said the company’s next goal is on the automation of underwriting decisions.
“The next stage in our mission to improve the customer experience around medical underwriting is in the automation of underwriting decisions where a screening examination has been undertaken,” he said.
“Our aim is for the underwriting decision to be available within seconds of the nurse submitting the client’s results and we are on course to launch this next phase later this year.”
