Accuro: Early days but happy with online response

Almost 100 policies have been issued using Accuro’s new instant online service.

Thursday, September 7th 2017, 6:00AM

The platform, called Hugo (Health Underwriting Goes live), guides customers through a questionnaire online, and gives them a fully underwritten personalised offer and cover that begins immediately.

Accuro chief executive Geoff Annals said it was a quicker and easier way to get health insurance, which took away worry and uncertainty.

He said it was powered by a complex system which only asked the questions needed, saving on pages of form filling, while going into detail where necessary. It was developed by a partnership of New Zealand companies; Accuro, Intelligent Life and Quotemonster.

“This new automated analysis and underwriting system is something previously in the ‘too-hard’ basket for health insurance, with many thousands of possible combinations. It is far more complex than life or car insurance, for example,” said Ed Saul, director at Intelligent Life.

“There’s a lot of business intelligence behind delivering such a simple to use system.”

A significant proportion of applicants will be able to access an instant offer and cover for their healthcare insurance. Applications identified by the intelligent underwriting system as possibly requiring extra attention will be sent to a human underwriter.

“The innovation also allows us to respond faster and better than ever before. And it means our skilled underwriters are freed up to spend more time on to the more complex applications so these applications can also be responded to faster and better while the automated system instantly handles applications that used to clog our underwriters’ in-trays,” Annals said.

“This new Hugo service from Accuro delivers a one-stop, accurate healthcare insurance service which is a major step forward for financial advisors and a world first for the industry,” said Alan Rafe, co-founder of Quality Product Research, which runs QuoteMonster.

Annals said it was designed with the idea of advisers being able to sit with their clients to go through the process, too.

So far 125 clients had initiated the process and it had been completed for 85, he said. “It’s early days but we’re very pleased with that response.”

Tags: Accuro financial advisers health insurance Quotemonster