Sagicor Life Jamaica (SLJ) , in another first of its kind move, has added tele-underwriting to its line of digital products. The introduction of the service is aimed at bolstering operations within its insurance business.

Following a pilot launch of the project last month, a full roll-out of the service is to come on stream by tomorrow (Monday, July 5). A project which the company said forms part of its commitment to innovation and digitisation as it seeks to set a new standard for service delivery across the industry.

According to Audrey Flowers Clarke, vice-president in charge of Insurance Operations at Sagicor Life, the new tele-underwriting service will allow underwriters to forge greater interactions with new and existing clients.

“Our underwriters arrange telephone consultations to retrieve necessary information for the underwriting process. They also clarify inconsistent or vague information on application forms as a value-added service to our clients,” she said.

The service, which is also intended to drive down costs for clients, will likewise provide alternatives to traditional mediums of engagement, allowing for greater consultations and follow-ups. SLJ said that through a new and digitised version of the previous Application Amendment Document (A32) — underwriters will now utilise an electronic Application Amendment Document (E32) to request and accept statements from clients via the tele-underwriting channel.

“A paper-based form remains in place for clients who prefer to complete business the traditional way,” the company stated in its news release.

“The introduction of the service is in keeping with the company’s continued efforts to improve service options and provide greater convenience,” Flowers Clarke added, noting also that efficiency across operation will be strengthened for the company’s over 600 financial advisors.

This latest move by SJL is in keeping with the company’s push towards digital efficiency. In 2019, SLJ rolled out its eLife online portal which allows for the purchasing of life insurance policies. The platform also allowed clients to purchase coupon life insurance, critical illness and investment-type policies without medical certificate requirement.

Subsequent to this, the company last year also launched a client Web portal, which allowed customers to securely request disbursements, view policy information in full detail and transfer policy payouts directly to their bank accounts.

“Since the pandemic, the portal was also updated to facilitate online payment of insurance premiums. Within the first month of this update, the company saw about 5,000 transactions of premium payments being conducted on the platform,” the company said.