LV= has reported a halving in the number of general practitioner reports (GPRs) it requests on income protection applications, from 19% of applications in 2008 to 9% in 2010.

The protection provider says this is largely due to the success of LV=’s online underwriting and tele-underwriting system which gathers more evidence up-front, and the introduction of new medical underwriting limits in 2009.

Anna Rogers, LV= head of underwriting. said: “A reduction in the number of GPRs we request can only be good news. It has resulted in an increase in our point of sale acceptance rate and cuts down on the time it takes to put a policy in force