Legal & General streamlines medical underwriting

Legal & General (L&G) has altered its underwriting criteria for people taking out life insurance and critical illness cover.

For applicants aged under 40 a GP report is not automatically requested unless the sum assured for life insurance is over £1 million. Similarly, for critical illness GP reports are not routinely required for this age group unless the sum assured is over £600,000.

Legal & General has particularly targeted high net worth applications for improvement, with the removal of resting ECGs (electrocardiograms) for high sums assured. This reflects a greater focus on large case business.

Russ Whitworth, underwriting and claims director for protection at L&G said: “We felt that there was scope to speed up the process and make it easier for people to take out cover. Therefore, for people under 50, GP reports are no longer the first piece of medical evidence that we will look for, instead focussing on nurse screening examinations, which take up less time.

"There are sums assured where we will not require any medical evidence at all, although this limit varies with age."