Old Mutual launches new intuitive and customised insurance proposition

The evolution of financial advice is centred around targeted solutions where the needs and behaviour of customers take centre stage. For advisers, this presents the opportunity for new ways of doing business that will enable them to improve operational efficiencies and boost their value offering to customers.

This is the view of John Kotze, Head of Protection Solutions, who spoke on the launch of Old Mutual’s new insurance proposition, which offers a range of personal and business cover solutions.

These solutions are backed by sophisticated systems that provide advisers with a seamless online sales and servicing experience.

According to Kotze, “when designing this proposition, we took all our learnings and market insights, coupled those with some of the best product features in the industry, added smart technology and integrated our rewards offering, giving our advisers a competitive edge.”

At the heart of the new solution lies modularity – giving advisers the ability to help customers build for what is relevant to them in terms of cover and any extra benefits they wish to add – and also flexibility, meaning cover modules can be changed as the needs of the customer change.

“Today, people are following non-linear career paths, enjoying non-traditional and blended families, as well as re-assessing parenting and gender role norms. Our current reality highlights the need for personal cover that is comprehensive, flexible, and modular, keeping pace with our evolving lives. This is exactly what our new proposition offers,” says Kotze.

This is particularly relevant for cash-strapped consumers wanting to reduce their insurance costs amid Covid-19-induced financial strain.

Kotze explains that the ease of the digital process allows for online needs analysis and solution recommendation, which is set to result in a more informed customer and improved efficiencies.

“Besides the legal requirement to keep a record of all financial advice conversations, online access and storage of documents makes it easier for financial advisers to conduct business on the go and thus improve their own turnaround times and all-round customer service,” she says.

The seamless experience — from solution recommendation, to quote and the issuing of the policy — means that advisers can focus on engaging and meaningful advice conversations with their customers.

Kotze highlights that “we’re introducing systems that will save our advisers’ time by, for example, pre-populating personal information, saving advice records securely in a cloud for them to access easily, and making quick underwriting decisions.”

Funeral policies can now be issued on the same day, and life policies and severe illness policies can be issued much quicker than ever before.

The wide range of benefits ensure that a comprehensive range of customer needs are addressed. “What we have now is essentially cover that evolves with the customer’s ever-changing life needs, ensuring that what matters most to them is always protected,” says Kotze.

Some of the features Old Mutual has introduced on their personal cover are:

• Life insurance: Limited premium paying term - which allows customers to reduce their overhead liabilities later in life by paying in advance (or pre-funding) their premiums until a retirement age of their choice between 55 and 70 and continue to enjoy cover;

• Disability insurance: Family Support Benefit - which provides up to 3 monthly payouts if a close family member of yours is diagnosed with a severe illness and you need to care for them, or if your spouse or partner dies. This is so have an income while you’re at home supporting your family;

• Funeral insurance: Funeral Paid-up Benefit - which means that premiums are no longer payable but cover continues if the premium payer becomes disabled, turn 64 or dies;

• Future insurance - which allows customers to get underwritten at their current age, the younger and healthier the better, for cover later in life. Typically, this will mean that the premiums they pay later in life could be lower;

• Illness insurance: Returning Illness Benefit - which pays up to 50% of the cover amount for returning severe illnesses such as cancer, heart attack or stroke after the full cover amount has already been paid.

“We are confident that Old Mutual’s new insurance proposition is intuitive and intelligent, and it has been designed with the needs of customers and financial advisers in mind. The dynamic quote process, choice of modular benefits and automated solution recommendation will help advisers across all channels to design individually tailored plans that meet customers’ financial needs in one journey,” says Kotze.