The Exeter has announced the launch of a new system to assess claims.

The protection and health insurer says its new system, used for claims, will streamline the income protection claims process and improve service efficiencies.

It adds that the engine will offer a more personalised claims experience to members by tailoring claims questions and cutting end-to-end turnaround times for payments. It also gives the Exeter greater capacity to offer instant decisions at the point of claim whilst aligning the provider even more closely with the Protection Distributor Group’s claims charter.

The Exeter is launching the use of the engine for income protection claims, with coverage expanding to claims made on its Real Life policies in early 2024.

The UnderwriteMe backed system will support The Exeter’s claims assessors in gathering as much information as possible from an initial phone conversation wit a claimant, generating a tailored set of questions based on the cause of the claim and the conversation.

The system also provides claims assessors with policy information, product features, exclusions, and adviser details on one platform for faster decisions. Whilst the system can recommend an outcome, the final claims decision will still rest with the claims assessor until The Exeter is ready to automate claim decisions.

Claire Hird, customer service director at the Exeter, said: “We are pleased to announce the launch of our new partnership with UnderwriteMe, which we believe will help deliver an even better experience for our member’s at the point of claim.

“The system provides our claims assessors with a more complete view of the member’s product details and uses responsive questions to help them make quicker decisions. The ability to fast-track a claim for payment for those members with a day one or week one deferred period is hugely exciting and aims to provide faster payments to those who will experience an immediate drop in income if they are unable to work due to illness or injury.

“These developments allow us to balance the efficiencies that technology can add to our business with our desire to continue providing a personal service to our members and intermediaries.”

Simon Jacobs, director of business development at UnderwriteMe, added: “UnderwriteMe is delighted to be working in partnership with The Exeter. As an industry we’ve spent a considerable amount of time and investment in making the underwriting process a far better experience for our customers. As part of this, we’ve made the application questions more intuitive to meet the needs of the customer whilst speeding up decision making times and improving decision consistency.

“So, why can’t we apply the same thinking to the claims process and further improve customer experience? We’re excited to work with The Exeter to make the first step towards achieving this!”

Andrew Wibberley, co-chair of the IPTF, concluded: “It’s great to see innovation in the most important part of what we do. Ensuring a claims assessor can make a decision with all information available in a consistent and efficient way is a good thing.

“The time taken to evaluate and pay claims is vital in ensuring that IP payments enable people to enjoy the financial security and peace of mind they purchased, and this is a positive step in delivering this.”