Aegon has moved a raft of processes online to make it easier for advisers through the Covid-19 pandemic.
The retirement specialist said over 60 processes that previously required paper are now online.
Ronnie Taylor, chief distribution officer, Aegon, said: “The sudden disruption as a result of the Coronavirus crisis was initially extremely disorientating. The immediate focus was to quickly re-shape the business to support advisers and help them and their business through an uncertain period.
“We already had a heavy spend on online services and digitisation, but the current situation called for a transformation of processes practically overnight, with a particular focus on processes around wet signatures.
“Dealing with clients remotely has shown advisers the importance of digital access, and we’re keen to capture the key learnings so support for clients can be delivered in the best way possible.”
According to platform benchmarking research carried out by Nextwealth, which looked at 85 processes across 20 platforms, over 80% of processes are now available without the need for a signature.
Heather Hopkins, managing director, NextWealth, commented: “Paperwork has always been a headache but the Coronavirus pandemic and social distancing rules have meant that what was once a headache has become an impediment to writing business.
“The industry has moved far and fast in response to the pandemic. We recognise this fantastic progress. We hope our report will push firms further in the adoption of digital processes to help advice firms increase efficiency, deliver a better service to customers and reduce risk.”
