MLC Life Insurance is using a tele-underwriting service to cut the time it takes to cover retail clients.

The fast-track system can halve underwriting time, according to MLC Chief Customer Officer for Retail Advised Insurance Melissa Heyhoe.

“With adviser consent, MLC can now complete a full personal statement with clients directly, not just the health component, with tele-underwriting,” she said. “Simple cases can now be completed in 10 minutes, while most cases can be completed in 20 minutes.”

Ms Heyhoe says parent Nippon Life’s investment in technology and data will enable further advances.

“We’ll be able to ask better questions at the underwriting stage. Instead of focusing on customers’ faults, we’ll be able to judge risk better by looking at the more positive aspects of their health.

“In the long term, we expect to make further changes to our underwriting rules engine to improve straight-through processing and therefore reduce the time it takes to get cover.”

MLC has also upgraded its Professionals Package, available to newly qualified professional workers registered or licensed within the past three years. The package allows an agreed value endorsement with no financial information required at claim time.

The insurer is also offering increased limits on life cover for these occupations, and increased limits on income protection for new medical professionals.

The sum-insured thresholds are now $40 million for life cover, up from $15 million; $15 million for total and permanent disability, up from $5 million; $10 million for critical illness, up from $2 million; and $60,000 per month for income protection, up from $40,000.