In our industry we're used to placing a great deal of importance on numbers, and using them as a benchmark to measure success. How many days does it take to process an application? How long to underwrite a plan? When can I expect my client to be on risk? Every provider wants to answer these questions – and show that they're quicker than the competition.
      But bear in mind that the figures quoted are averages and may not apply in your client's specific situation. So at Bright Grey, although numbers matter, we believe that it's the people who are responsible for delivering truly great service. People who understand your business needs. People who recognise that each client is as important as the next. People who give you what you need when you need it, not just because it'll mean quicker turnaround figures, but because we want to make life easier for you and better for your clients.
      Our people know that we don't aim to be average – we aim to be the best – and we do this by giving you truly great service on a personal level. Isn't that more important than the numbers?
      Why not spend a few minutes reading more about what our people are doing and how our service can make a real difference to you and your clients?

If you like our newsletter ... Not interested in our newsletter? Want to tell us what you think?

2 in a row

We're delighted to win the Financial Adviser Service Award for the second year running, but we don't measure our success by the number of trophies in the cabinet.

Making the claim was
    so straightforward
    with no intrusive
    or unnecessary
    questions.

When 36-year-old mother of 2 Andrea was diagnosed with breast cancer in August 2008, she and her husband "felt like a rug had been pulled from under our feet". She says the support from Bright Grey when she made her claim, and the practical help she received from Helping Hand, helped her to cope with her ordeal.

Do you think it's important to vote for industry awards?


Watch out for the results on Bright Adviser soon.

Visit our homepage to see the results of our previous poll where we asked

"Is it important to offer critical illness cover that includes mastectomy?"

Numbers matter

So which numbers matter to you? Well, it must be the numbers that tell you what we're doing to get your clients on risk quicker, what our claims figures are, and how we support your clients through Helping Hand. So here they are:

The number of plans that were issued terms within 7 days – 71%. The days we've cut from our application process by introducing tele-underwriting – 5. And the average turnaround time for new applications – 1 day. 72% of applications were submitted through interactive quote & apply in October and 54% of applicants received an immediate decision – in other words, more than 1 in 2 people. Which means you receive your commission faster. We paid out 90% of critical illness claims made in the first half of this year, which has improved 7% since we last published figures, and claims declined for non-disclosure were less than 2.5%. We have more people using our Helping Hand service – 98% – than ever before.

All service figures Bright Grey, October 2009.
Claims figures Bright Grey, 1 January – 30 June 2009.
Helping Hand figure, RED ARC service analysis, July – September 2009.

People power

"One aspect of my job is to find trends
in business being submitted and come up with better ways to process it. We recently started working with an adviser who was sending a number of high-premium cases through each
day..."

Robert's view on underwriting

Here Robert Morrison, head of underwriting and claims at Bright Grey, talks about how small changes to underwriting processes can make a big difference to both you and your clients.