Following extensive user feedback and research, the new service has been designed to provide significantly improved workflow and ease of use. Clients’ personal details, including smoker status, lifestyle factors and any medical issues are now collected at the beginning of the business process via a dedicated ‘annuitant’ section.
The new service enables users to quote for both combined protected and non protected sources within one process. This enables the adviser to deliver accurate figures to their customers within one quote, rather than running two separate quotes for each product element.
We have also merged our IVPP and OMO services, enabling access to these different products from within the same service. These steps have helped to reduce unnecessary data input and further streamlines the user experience, saving time every annuity quote is performed.
In addition, all indicative quotations have also been removed, with ‘real’ quotes now returned directly from the provider, ensuring advisers and their clients receive the most accurate results possible.
David Child, managing director, 1st –The Exchange explains:
“Our annuity offering has always been very well received in the industry, and after listening to feedback from our users we are delighted to now offer an enhanced service that will provide even further added value. With ease of use at the forefront of our new design, advisers will be able to service clients even more quickly and efficiently, even those with very complex and specialist needs.”
Other key benefits include:
- Introduction of select products link: allows advisers to obtain quotes on specific provider products where multiple options are available
- Removal of duplicate questions: ensuring data only needs to be entered into the system once, significantly reducing errors
- Clearer Results table: fixed term/to age and ‘for life’ products are now displayed in separate sections
The Exweb annuity platform offers the widest possible product coverage available, with adviser users able to obtain quotations from a wide range of products and providers. In 2006 the online system became the first in the market to offer life style annuities via a portal,
