Australians will be able to access life insurance faster thanks to an industry-first initiative by Acenda that will streamline the processing of medical information.

Acenda has partnered with EQ Pathology allowing doctors to provide medical information through smart, digital questionnaires instead of submitting PDF forms.

This will enable complete unambiguous data for insurers and advisers, delivering a streamlined digital process for doctors and fewer delays for customers.

Insurance applications can sometimes require additional medical information to complete. These requests currently involve manual intervention to process and can create delays for advisers and customers. The new, automated process eliminates bottlenecks and delivers faster decisions when medical information is required.

Gerard Kerr, Chief Executive Individual Business, said Acenda is the first Australian life insurer to deliver this new digitised process.

“This industry-first initiative is part of Acenda’s commitment to innovation and ensuring we put the customer at the heart of everything we do and make it easier and faster for Australians to obtain their cover,” he said.

“It is part of our focus to transform underwriting and to innovate how our underwriters get precisely the information they need the first time without the back and forth that can delay applications.

“Doctors will no longer have to download or print PDFs so advisers can provide their clients with faster decisions in a streamlined experience that still respects their privacy.”

Stephen Clarkson, CEO of EQ Pathology, said: “This partnership demonstrates how technology can solve real problems, making life insurance applications smoother and faster for clients, advisers and medical professionals.

“It’s exciting to see an insurer embrace our structured data approach to eliminate the traditional bottlenecks in underwriting.”