COLUMBUS, Ohio - Nationwide Financial has introduced an application that makes it easier for agents to obtain personal medical information for variable life insurance policies.
The tele-underwriting application lets agents use a shortened form with clients that excludes medical questions. The company then follows up with the client by telephone to ask the questions.
"Tele-underwriting saves producers time, allows them to avoid asking questions they might not feel comfortable asking, and helps us to process life applications more efficiently," said Peter Golato, vice president of brokerage life sales for Nationwide Financial. "The personal medical questions can be as difficult for clients to answer as they are for producers to ask," he said. "Tele-underwriting allows clients to answer these questions in the privacy of their own home over the telephone, which can be much less embarrassing."
Nationwide Financial's products are sold through independent financial planners, regional broker/dealers, banks, and Nationwide agents. The addition of tele-underwriting is the first piece of Nationwide Financial's two-year improvement campaign. It plans to upgrade its life insurance processing systems and processes.
