The Association of British Insurers (ABI) has published a set of high level principles on the use of e-Signatures.
The aim to to make applying for and buying insurance cover as easy and simple for customers as possible.

Insurers increasingly use e-Signatures to request individuals’ medical information for life and health insurance products. They allow a customer’s consent to be sent instantly to the insurer.

The ABI believes that insurers following these principles will give confidence to GPs and consumers that using e-Signatures to gain customer consent is not only as safe and secure as the current paper-based system but speeds up insurers providing life insurance cover and annuities for customers.

The ABI has worked together with the Joint General Practitioner Information Technology Committee of the British Medical Association (BMA) and Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP), with approval from the General Medical Council (GMC), in developing these Principles. They set an industry standard which is intended to allow new providers and users of e-Signatures to innovate, while maintaining safeguards for patients and GPs.

The ABI says the key benefits of e-Signatures are:

• Safety – Prevent documents being tampered with as changes that have been made can be tracked
• Ease – Save the hassle of paperwork and postage costs
• Speed – Less time consuming than printing, faxing and filing

Charlie Campbell, policy adviser for protection and health at the ABI, said: “These principles set an industry standard, giving doctors and customers confidence that using e-Signatures is safe and secure, and will speed up the underwriting process for the benefit of customers.”