Royal London has removed restrictions to its underwriting approach put in place in 2020 due to Covid-19.

The insurer says it will continue to ease restrictions with the aim of returning to a pre-pandemic underwriting philosophy.

An estimated six in 10 of the applications that were postponed due to temporary restrictions relating to coronavirus will now be offered terms for cover. All temporary rating restrictions related to coronavirus for Critical Illness and Income Protection covers have also been removed.

Royal London has increased the maximum ratings applied to life cCover applications at all age bands, with the maximum for those aged under 60 increasing to 300%. For critical illness and income protection, all temporary rating restrictions related to coronavirus have now been removed, with the maximum rating limit returning to 150% for all customers.

Diabetes life cover is under review and will be updated separately to the changes made on menu products.

The changes apply to all new applications, any on-going applications, and any case where terms have expired or that need a further underwriting assessment.

Craig Paterson, chief underwriter at Royal London, said: “With an improving picture in the UK and the progress of the vaccination programme, we’re pleased to be able to remove the bulk of the restrictions that have been in place for the last year.

“Our updated approach to underwriting will ensure greater access to insurance with more customers now able to obtain cover, whilst also recognising that the situation remains changeable. We will continue to evolve our underwriting philosophy as circumstances dictate with the aim of returning to our pre-pandemic philosophy as soon as we are able to.”