Speeding up the protection process

Why does everything seem so complicated these days? Especially with so much online technology which should speed up processes and make customer experiences much better.

Protection products are about as complicated as they have ever been. With critical illness cover, providers are stuck in a never ending illness race that they are all committed to competing in. It’s like Groundhog Day, repeating the same pattern with only minor changes to the outcome.

Price competition means that companies constantly cut their headline rates but ever more applicants find themselves loaded during the underwriting process. And the application process is long despite available online technology.

In a world where people expect to be able to buy things quickly it still amazes me that protection takes anywhere between one hour and 3 months to process.

Personally I hate waiting for things to be done. One of my bug-bears is airline check in. My heart just sinks when I see those endless zig-zagging lines of miserable people pushing cases big enough to fit a kitchen sink inside? After waiting nearly 2 hours in a check in queue before returning from holiday a couple of summers ago we decided that from now on we would travel with hand bags only.

Yes - even my wife agreed to go without some outfits and a few pairs of shoes in order to save ourselves the misery of a hot airport check in hall. The price, fewer clothes, in order to make the journey more bearable, was definitely worth paying. If you want speed there is usually a price to be paid whether in monetary terms or the opportunity cost, in this case, of having to take fewer items.

I do wonder about life assurance and its long application process. Most people don’t particularly want to buy it, and despite the perceived need to have to offer the cheapest rates, most consumers have no clue as to what protection costs. Some may think the cheapest rate is good value; others might think it’s too expensive.

For those who have decided that they need protection insurance, I think they would be happy to pay a few extra pence a month in order to speed through the underwriting process.

Time may be more valuable to them ultimately than saving a few pence per month on the premium.