COVER reported recently that an insurer system glitch caused the wrong policy documents to be sent to an adviser. Insurer system and computer errors are nothing new, but is it a problem that needs more attention?
Alison Mitchell, mortgage and protection adviser, Robson Macintosh
To be honest, I do not find this is something that affects me at all in any way.
I have support staff who check everything as a matter of course. I do all the work with the client and, when a recommendation is made, I will do all the reports. But when policy documents come through I have an assistant who will go through it all thoroughly and check it against client files before submitting it to the client.
I have not had any problems whatsoever about system processes in the nine years I have been doing this job. But, then again, I do have the back-up staff to check everything, so I do not fully rely wholly on the insurer computer systems anyway.
Advisers should be checking everything that goes out to clients. Glitches are always going to happen, but advisers cannot blame the insurers if they get something in with a mistake and send it off to clients without checking it.
I have used the insurer systems and processes myself too and I find they have all been very straightforward to use. There may be times when extra information needs to be added on to applications on some things, but really it is just something we have to do.
I do not think there is any problem to address. Sometimes there can be too much negativity in the industry. I tend to think we should just get on with it.
Chris Pollard, head of operations, Friends Life
Just over 12 years ago, many industries were on count-down for the new millennium. Fingers were crossed that the countless system updates that had been so rigorously tested, came through and the new millennium would be registered as 2000 and not 00.
Now, insurance is being bought through touchscreen phones and tablets. The results of a client’s health screening can be in the hands of life underwriters before the screening nurse has left for the next appointment. Terms can be offered in minutes, and a client can be on risk immediately. However, insurers continually face the challenge of front-end versus back-end.
There has been massive investment, rightly so, ensuring that customer and adviser journeys work and deliver the outcomes required. Insurer systems need to be many things: fast, reliable, intuitive, and easy to navigate. These attributes reflect the changing processes that are underpinning insurance purchases, such as sophisticated underwriting and menu-based cover.
Balancing the investment into the front-end with robust back-end systems, the engine room of the insurer, is vital. These systems will drive the thousands of complex calculations and, importantly, the output.
The time and benefits that can be saved by having the most effective front-end, can easily be eroded when servicing and supporting the customer through the back-end does not work as well as expected. We all know that challenges remain but maintaining both sides of the equation is vital to customer delivery.
