COVID continues to be a threat and clients are still reluctant to meet personally with advisors or parameds. Insurance carriers have adapted by making some of the following adjustments:
- Expansion of Accelerated Underwriting programs. Now possible for a 65-year-old to get up to $5,000,000 without an exam.
- Increased acceptance of clinical labs and physicals in lieu of paramedical requirements.
- Increased utilization of electronic medical records from patient portals via services such as HumanAPI. This avoids the delay of obtaining full medical records from the provider. See prior blog for more details.
- Greater reliance on technology with eApplications and electronic policy delivery.
Another area that is about to see change is how carriers evaluate cognitive function. The old way is typically a physical encounter with a paramedical representative to perform such tests as getting out of a chair and walking, remembering words and drawing a clock. These tests can be embarrassing, yield confusing results and certainly your elderly clients are resistant to allowing a paramed into their house – Enter Neurotrack.
Neurotrack is a way to remotely and accurately administer a cognitive assessment. The client completes the test in the comfort of their own home on a smart phone or computer with a camera. Numerous clinical studies have established that there is a quantifiable relationship between digital eye movement and cognition. The test simply involves the client visually following images on their screen and only takes a few minutes. The results are then analyzed by a proprietary algorithm and comparison to established baselines are available immediately. Numerous carriers are considering using Neurotrack as another way to eliminate the need for a paramed to enter your client’s home or business. It is quite possible that it will be part of age/amount requirements in the near future.
I will continue to keep you informed of current and future changes in underwriting.
Please contact me if you have any questions.
Bill McGrory
Global Insurance Solutions Group
Email: bmcgrory@globalisg.net
phone: 484-434-8699
mobile: 856-816-7004