You have a potential lead. You meet with them and find out they have several issues in their medical and non-medical history. They have a history of heart trouble (palpitations), diabetes on medication, a few speeding tickets and they smoke marijuana three times per week. You aren’t sure what you should do?
A. Submit an application and hope for the best.
B. Ask your manager/trainer if they think it’s a good risk.
C. Check the field underwriting guide.
D. Emailopinion-prelim@ia.ca, provide them with all the information you know and ask them how to proceed.
E. C and D
F. B, C and D
The answer is at the bottom of this bulletin.
iA PARTNERSHIP TEAM – BUILT WITH OUR ADVISORS IN MIND
Yes, you do have access to our underwriters!
The iA Partnership Team is a dedicated team of case coordinators and underwriting consultants whose sole purpose is to support YOU, our advisors.
You may ask how will THEY help ME?
Provide additional underwriting support.
Handle any additional information (copies of tests/investigations, symptoms, etc.) for underwriting.
Help with reconsidering a client’s rating/decline/postponement.
Determine the insurability of a potential client.
Clarify the decision on a file.
Answer questions not found in iA’s field underwriting guide.
The answer is just an email away!
Existing clients?Each MGA / sales office has a preferred method of contacting iA’s new business administration department. Speak to your sales manager or trainer for your office’s approach. Once your inquiry is sent to iA, our partnership consultants will review it and provide you with feedback and next steps.
Potential clients?Email our team at opinion-prelim@ia.ca and remember to provide sufficient details:
age, gender, smoking status
medical / non-medical history
family history
product information (life, CI, disability) and face amount
details of any specific OR out of the ordinary circumstances
And always advise our team of opinions you have received from iA!
SHARING EVIDENCE BETWEEN INSURERS
Applying with multiple insurance carriers? Make iA your lead insurer—here’s why:
Not only are we the leader in instant decisions and predictive underwriting rules, we have also paved the way to be your first choice when applying with multiple insurers.
We always share medical evidence with the other insurers, even if we are in competition.
When you make us your lead insurer (which means iA will be responsible for all the medical requirements necessary), we will handle any requests from other insurers promptly. We stand behind our products and our underwriting decisions—but we want your client to get the best offer out there.
Applying elsewhere – How can you help?
Answer “yes” to pending insurance with other insurer(s).
Provide types of insurance (life, CI, disability) and total face amount to be placed for each product type.
This helps to expedite evidence requests from other insurers.
MEET iA TEAM MEMBERS
Isabelle F.
Isabelle is a member of our Partnership Team as an underwriting consultant. She has been in underwriting since 2001 and has been with iA since 2012. She has experience underwriting life, critical illness and disability products. She enjoys all the challenges and aspects of underwriting that come with each client’s file – medical, non-medical, complex cases or not. When she’s not busy on our Partnership Team, she loves travelling, reading and being outdoors biking, kayaking or snowshoeing.
Marc T.
Marc is a member of our Underwriting Centre of Excellence. He has been working as an underwriter since 2008. He has experience across all product lines. He finds it all fascinating because there are never two files or situations that are the same. Underwriting demands underwriters to complete a precise analysis and to be investigators. Although it can be challenging, it is gratifying to find a solution or to take the right decision that will be fair for the client and for our business partners. Marc is also a technical underwriting expert, with significant knowledge of our electronic underwriting rules and philosophy. When Marc is outside the office, he enjoys music – both playing and listening. He also loves watching documentaries and reading biographies.
QUIZ – ANSWER
Correct Answer: E.
Check the field underwriting guide and if you can’t see the answer there, then emailopinion-prelim@ia.ca. In your email, provide them with the following:
Age, gender, smoking status
Product (life, CI, disability)
Approximate face amount (can even be a range)
Relevant medical history: include diagnosis date (year is fine), meds, how long since last check-up and results, any pending investigations, etc.
Relevant non-medical history – driving, avocations, drug/alcohol usage, etc.
Relevant family history
If you said F, that’s not wrong either. However, your sales managers/trainers often end up forwarding your request to opinion-prelim@ia.ca.
Need more information?
Existing client inquiries
Follow your office's preferred method for contacting new business administration
iA Financial Group, 1080 Grande Allee West, PO BOX 1907, Station Terminus, Quebec, Quebec G1K 7M3 (Canada).
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