General insurance (GI) platform provider Paymentshield has relaunched its online presence with a new website that provides improved functionality for advisers and additional support for customers.

The new site brings together adviser and customer support into one simplified platform, though distinct areas will remain in place for each audience.

The relaunch has been informed by research Paymentshield conducted earlier this year with advisers and consumers alike. In a survey conducted with over 2000 UK adults, Paymentshield found that almost one in five (19%) find buying insurance products ‘overwhelming’.

To help tackle this, the platform will be home to a new insurance knowledge hub with customer guides, providing support from remortgage tips to hints on preparing your home for bad weather. Advisers will be able to refer customers to this area to supplement their advice.

A restyled marketing toolkit also means advisers will find it easier to search for and download GI materials. In Paymentshield’s recent Adviser Survey – conducted with over 300 advisers – almost 60% of advisers said that these resources help them to generate more GI sales.

A new feature has also been built into this toolkit, enabling advisers to add their own logos and contact details to content. Almost one-third of respondents in the survey said they would use the Paymentshield website more frequently if they could do this.

In addition, the new site is home to a built-in commission calculator, so advisers can immediately understand their potential earnings without needing to log into the Adviser Hub platform. It is hoped this new functionality will help demonstrate the value of GI to adviser businesses and prompt more sales, particularly as they navigate the cost-of-living crisis and its impact on the house-buying market.

For customers, the claims journey is supported by an upgraded search tool, helping those who may have lost their policy information find the right contact details for their insurer so they can quickly get their claim underway.

The new launch is part of Paymentshield’s wider digital strategy to help advisers capitalise on GI opportunities and deliver the best possible experience to customers. It follows recent enhancements Paymentshield made to the Adviser Hub platform, which included a new flagging system on long-standing policies to help prompt a review.

Louise Pengelly (pictured), proposition director at Paymentshield, said: “Our new online profile is about making life easier for both advisers and end customers, and directly responds to feedback we’ve gathered this year on what advisers would find valuable. Everything we do centres on helping advisers demonstrate the power of advice and on delivering good customer outcomes, and we hope the new website delivers on both – whether it’s making the claims experience less of a hassle or in supporting advisers make the insurance process less overwhelming for customers.”