IRESS launches ‘buy-now’ term assurance option with Cignpost Life

Financial technology business IRESS today announces it has launched an adviser accessible ‘buy-now’ term assurance option via its award-winning quote and apply sourcing engine, The Exchange. For those advisers with access to the option, the ‘buy now’ product is clearly displayed alongside other quotes to easily show its competitive position. It provides advisers and their clients with absolute price certainty at the point of sale.

IRESS has delivered this new functionality with the aim of helping to reduce the well-publicised protection gap.

The new ‘buy now’ option is the culmination of a collaborative process with providers and intermediaries in the protection industry. In adding this functionality, IRESS has delivered a way to help advisers easily compare an immediate ‘buy now’ option with alternative term assurance application processes. Many advised clients simply want to buy a term assurance product quickly at an affordable price, as part of a mortgage purchase for example, without having to go through a potentially lengthy application process that may require full underwriting.

The functionality is driven by technology that builds in qualifying criteria agreed between IRESS and the product provider, to skip the application underwriting process completely and go straight to purchase.

The first ‘buy now’ term assurance product to be made available through The Exchange to intermediaries is provided by digital protection specialist, Cignpost Life.

IRESS is also in advanced discussions with other term assurance providers and intermediary firms as it looks to add even more choice in this exciting new market, as an alternative approach to asking full underwriting questions at point of sale, where simplicity and customer experience is key.

Dave Miller, General Executive Manager, Commercial, IRESS, said:

Protection advisers have been crying out for a digital solution to streamline the existing process and get clients appropriate life cover quickly, at an affordable cost. What we’ve built here delivers absolute price certainty at quote stage, greater customer choice, simplicity, flexibility and efficiency.

Paul Foody, Inchora Group commented:

We created Cignpost Life in partnership with iptiQ, to address the protection gap that exists within the home market.  Following the launch of our online consumer proposition in 2018, we integrated with the IRESS platform to enable a “buy now solution” to be available to advisors. Our advanced technology offers the ability to understand if customers are eligible in as little as 6 underwriting questions. Applications can be completed in as little as 4 minutes providing a quick and simple option in a world that has traditionally been more complex. We’re delighted to be the first to market, through IRESS technology, with this long-desired protection product.