National Friendly ties up with Munich Re

Munich Re Automation Solutions Ltd has announced its partnership with National Friendly, which has adopted the ALLFINANZ SPARK solution to provide traditionally underserved members with simplified access to income protection insurance.

SPARK’s extensive analytics and reporting capabilities are designed to translate the complex world of underwriting into a straightforward, user-friendly experience. It facilitates the underwriting of National Friendly’s new income protection offering, allowing its brokers to reach a wider range of customers with a faster, more efficient application process.

Historically focused on savings and annuities, the new proposition comes as part of a wider push by National Friendly to offer income protection to a cohort of members traditionally underserved by the market, because of their occupation or medical history.

Using SPARK, National Friendly has designed an offering capable of giving members a fair and accurate assessment, even if their earnings fluctuate. Graham Singleton, CEO at National Friendly, commented, “Earlier this year, following conversations with our intermediaries, our leadership team recognised that a proportion of customers were being underserved by the traditional insurance market when it came to income protection cover. We wanted to turn that around as soon as possible. We knew our timelines were ambitious, but Munich Re matched our pace at every turn. We were thrilled to soft launch our new proposition last month. It’s a totally user-first experience thanks to Munich Re’s streamlined interface. We have already seen our clients benefit.”

Paul Donnelly, vice president, EMEA at Munich Re Automation Solutions, added: “Income protection is an essential part of financial or life planning, but a complex application process can make income protection hard to access. In fact, it can make people feel excluded, or that such products are not for them. National Friendly is an organisation that embodies the ideals of mutualism that were the foundation of our industry, together with a drive to innovate on behalf of its members and clients. We share their commitment to people-first, accessible product design, and are delighted to be working with them.”

The new proposition was soft launched to prospective members on October 22 and covers everything from accidents to chronic health conditions.