Royal London has introduced changes to its underwriting philosophy, primarily focussed on improving terms for customers with a family history of diabetes.

One of the main changes is that a family history of Type 1 diabetes will no longer be taken into consideration in the underwriting decision. There are general improvements to the family history of Type 2 outcomes with no additional ratings at all for Life cover and improved outcomes for Critical Illness and Income Protection.

Decisions for a combined family history of diabetes and heart disease have also been improved, and more online decisions for a family history of stroke. This improves the speed to offer, makes Royal London easier to do business with and improves conversion rates.

Additionally, the maximum sum assured available for customers aged 80 and over has been extended from £100,000 to £2,000,000 to improve access to insurance cover for older customers.

Craig Paterson, chief underwriter at Royal London, said: “We continue to focus on improving outcomes for our customers and to boost access to insurance. Our latest enhancements demonstrate our focus on being competitive for the most commonly disclosed areas of underwriting and providing evidence-based decisions.”