Underwriting Guide

ENHANCING YOUR
CLIENT’S INCOME

A GUIDE TO PARTNERSHIP UNDERWRITING

For authorised financial advisers only – not for retail clients

This guide is designed to show you just how important
underwriting is in this constantly changing retirement
landscape, and how the Partnership application process
can be quick and simple.

CONTENTS

04 WHAT IS AN ENHANCED
OR IMPAIRED ANNUITY

07 THE PARTNERSHIP DIFFERENCE
08 THE PARTNERSHIP APPLICATION

AND UNDERWRITING PROCESS

10 GLOSSARY OF COMMON
CONDITIONS

Please note all figures quoted in this guide are based on a postcode of TN25 6ND. This was selected as an average postcode.

2

GETTING THE BEST RATE?

UNDERWRITTEN ANNUITIES COULD
SIGNIFICANTLY BOOST YOUR
CLIENT’S INCOME.

With the introduction of unisex rates
in December 2012, getting a clear
indication of your client’s health and
lifestyle is vital, as these details are one
of the few remaining factors which can
have a material bearing on the annuity
rates they are offered. In this economic
climate it is even more important to
gain as much income for your clients as
possible to see them into a comfortable
retirement.

A guide to Partnership Underwriting 3

ENHANCING YOUR CLIENT’S INCOME

A GUIDE TO PARTNERSHIP UNDERWRITING

WHAT IS AN ENHANCED When you consider that over 50%1 of your clients could qualify for
OR IMPAIRED ANNUITY? an enhanced annuity, this type of annuity is not just for a select
few. It is critical to gather as much detail about health and lifestyle
An enhanced or impaired for every one of your clients to see whether they could qualify. From
annuity is an annuity which the relatively minor such as smoking and high blood pressure to the
offers clients a higher more severe such as cancer and heart disease, the enhancements
income due to a medical or could be staggering.
lifestyle reason that could
affect life expectancy. Partnership has nearly two decades of underwriting data and
experience that enables us to offer better annuity rates than many
other companies. The good news is that the public are becoming
more aware of the importance of providing health details, and when
they see just how much of an uplift can be achieved they will be
more than willing to give you the information required.

Impaired annuities from the company that invented them

Partnership is expert in the field of medically underwritten
annuities, from our launch back in 1995 as Pension Annuity
Friendly Society, we have rapidly grown to become one of the
UK’s largest providers of Impaired Annuities. In fact we introduced
the concept!

With Partnership’s expert team of medical underwriters and our
wealth of actuarial data we are able to offer more of your customers
an enhanced annuity. Even for medical conditions that you or your
customer might not think are serious enough to qualify. If your
customer is a smoker, or has high cholesterol for example, we may
be able to offer a better annuity rate than you might expect.

Partnership is able to achieve higher rates because we underwrite
each application individually using our own proprietary data and
a unique business model. It means we can accurately assess the
impact of health and lifestyle on life expectancy which gives us
an advantage in that we can create annuities which are tailored
to each individual’s specific circumstances.

1 ABI data, Q2 2014

4

OVER HALF OF ANNUITANTS
ARE ELIGIBLE FOR AN
ENHANCED ANNUITY BUT
LESS THAN A THIRD APPLY,
WHICH SHOWS A MASSIVE
NEED FOR ADVICE.

ABI data, Q2 2014

A guide to Partnership Underwriting 5

Margaret is 60 years old and Mike is 65 years old and has
has an aggressive tumour in her been diagnosed with type two
breast. She has been undergoing diabetes and has a high BMI and
treatment for the last six months. high cholesterol. His adviser was
By doing online research she able to find this out by using the
found the best standard rate Common Quotation Form to get
she could receive was £2,567. an enhanced annuity quotation
However when she sought help and increased Mike’s income by
from a financial adviser, they 16%, from £2,895 to £3,371.
introduced her to impaired
annuities, and she was able to get
an annuity income of £3,039.

UPLIFT UPLIFT

18.4% 16.4%

For illustration purposes only comparing enhanced/impaired annuities with the best available standard rate annuity. Based on
£50,000 fund, single life, 5 year guarantee, and nil escalation. Paid monthly in arrears. Figures correct as at 10/12/2014.

6

ENHANCING YOUR CLIENT’S INCOME

A GUIDE TO PARTNERSHIP UNDERWRITING

THE PARTNERSHIP A healthy client UPLIFT
DIFFERENCE who shops around1
A client who is 8.2%
Even basic details of height and weight a smoker2
can increase income but go into a little A client who FURTHER
more detail and even more income could has suffered a UPLIFT
be possible. A typical healthy reading for heart attack2
blood pressure is 120/80 – 140/90, 11.2%
a reading outside this could result in
more income. In fact just taking BMI FURTHER
and diagnosed high blood pressure into UPLIFT
account could result in a further uplift
of 8.2%2. 31.2%

Here are some examples of the uplift your
clients can achieve:

A client with FURTHER
type 1 diabetes2 UPLIFT

44.3%

A client with FURTHER
cancer2 UPLIFT

26.8%

1 The difference between the lowest and highest rate as listed on the Annuity Marketing
Service. Figures correct as at 10/12/2014.

2 S ample rates based on Partnership assessment of severity of existing conditions compared
with the best standard rate available as at 10/12/2014. Actual rates can vary and will depend
on individual circumstances.

Based on a £50,000 fund, single life, 5 year guarantee, and nil escalation. Paid monthly
in arrears.

7

THE PARTNERSHIP APPLICATION
AND UNDERWRITING PROCESS

What to expect from us once you have all
the details from your client.

12

Request Considering
a quotation the request

There are four ways you can request What we do to investigate and
an enhanced annuity rate from Partnership maximise the amount we offer

Complete the Common Quotation Form Pension Annuity – Quotation
and fax or email to us. Sufficient medical evidence has been
submitted and we agree to fast track
Send us an email with the your application and may seek a GP
relevant information. report from your clients doctor after
a policy has been set up.
Fax or email us a copy of another
providers completed quotation Pension Annuity – Illustration
request form.
Upon the client’s signed consent and
Via an industry leading annuity your final approval we will approach
quotation portal. your client’s GP for a report and once
received we will be able to offer a
binding quotation.

Partnership will bear the costs of the
GP report.

With a complete picture of your client’s
health the possibility of us offering
improved terms increases.

We will only illustrate (i.e. offer
provisional terms subject to medical
evidence) for applications above a
certain fund value or if the medical
condition requires validation from
a GP report.

Download the
Common Quotation Form at
www.commonquotation.co.uk

8

3 4 5

What to do if you Partnership will then Still need help?
want to proceed? do all the work

Common Quotation Form or other • W e will send all the documentation to Call us on the Adviser Helpline if you
providers request form / emailed the ceding scheme for processing have any questions. Our team will be
quote request used and signed by happy to help. 0845 108 7237
the annuitant(s) – send us the • Our team will periodically chase
following documentation: the ceding scheme to ensure we Common Quotation Form
receive the funds www.commonquotation.co.uk
1. Quotation you wish to proceed with
• W e set up one annuity payment once
2. Completed / signed short Partnership all transfers have been received
Application Form
• Annuity Payments usually begin
3. Completed / signed ceding within 5 working days of the policy
scheme discharge forms (please being set up
send originals in the post)
• R emuneration is usually paid
4. Appropriate proof of age and name within 5 working days of the policy
being set up

Contact us
Adviser helpline 0845 108 7237*

Email [email protected]

Fax to 0845 108 7238

Post to Partnership, Regent House,
1-3 Queensway, Redhill,
Surrey RH1 1QT

A guide to Partnership Underwriting *Telephone calls may be recorded for training and monitoring purposes. Local call rates apply. 9

GLOSSARY OF COMMON CONDITIONS

The following is a list of common conditions, but if you are
in any doubt about what might qualify do give us a call.

CONDITION WHAT IS IT? STATISTICS

Breast cancer Cancer located in the breast. According to Cancer Research, it is the
most common cancer in women with
approximately 1 in 9 being diagnosed.

Prostate cancer A cancer located in the prostate (a small Prostate cancer is the most common
gland in the pelvis found only in men). cancer in men in the UK with over
40,000 new cases diagnosed every year.

High blood Blood pressure measures how strongly In England 32 per cent of men and 29
pressure blood presses against the walls of your per cent of women have or are being
(Hypertension) arteries (large blood vessels) as it is treated for high blood pressure.
pumped around your body by your heart.
If this pressure is too high it puts a strain
on your arteries and your heart, which
makes it more likely that you will suffer
a heart attack, a stroke or kidney disease.

Obesity Obesity is a term used to describe 24% of men and 26% of women are
somebody who is overweight with a higher classed as obese, with 53% of obese
than recommended BMI (Body Mass men and 44% of obese women also
Index). suffer with high blood pressure.

Diabetes Diabetes is a lifelong condition that  In 2013 3.2 million people in the UK
causes a person’s blood sugar level have been diagnosed with diabetes.
to become too high.

Heart attack Heart attack is a serious medical It is estimated that 50,000 English men
emergency in which the supply of and 32,000 English women have heart
blood to the heart is suddenly blocked, attacks every year. Most heart attacks
usually by a blood clot. Lack of blood occur in people over 45 years of age.
to the heart can seriously damage the
heart muscle.

Bowel cancer General term for cancer that begins in Bowel cancer is one of the most common
the large bowel. Depending on where the types of cancer diagnosed in the UK,
cancer starts, bowel cancer is sometimes with around 40,000 new cases diagnosed
called colon cancer or rectal cancer. every year.

Multiple Sclerosis Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a disease It is estimated that there are currently
affecting nerves in the brain and spinal around 100,000 people with MS in the
cord, causing problems with muscle United Kingdom.
movement, balance and vision.

Parkinson’s Parkinson’s disease is a condition It is estimated 127,000 people suffer
Disease in which part of the brain becomes with PD in the UK with men more
progressively more damaged over  commonly affected than women.
many years (a progressive
neurological condition).

Angina Angina is a heart condition that is caused In England it is estimated that 1 in 12
when the blood supply to the muscles of men and 1 in 30 women between 55 and
the heart is restricted. 65 years of age have angina. This figure
rises to 1 in 7 and 1 in 12 who are over
Sources: www.nhs.uk, www.bhf.org.uk and www.diabetes.org.uk 65 years of age.

10

PARTNERSHIP COVERS
THOUSANDS OF CONDITIONS,
BUT THESE ARE THE TOP
TEN CONDITIONS WE
MOST COMMONLY SEE.

A guide to Partnership Underwriting 11

Regent House, 1-3 Queensway, Redhill, Surrey RH1 1QT.
Tel: 0845 108 7240
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.partnership.co.uk

Telephone calls may be recorded for training and monitoring purposes. Local call rates apply.

If you require this document in an alternative format please contact us.

Partnership is a trading style of the Partnership group of Companies, which includes; Partnership Life Assurance Company Limited (registered in England
and Wales No. 05465261), and Partnership Home Loans Limited (registered in England and Wales No. 05108846).

Partnership Life Assurance Company Limited is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and
the Prudential Regulation Authority.

Partnership Home Loans Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

The registered office for both companies is 5th Floor, 110 Bishopsgate, London EC2N 4AY. RET2095 12.14 V2