Royal London extended its digital services for whole of life plans, DFM forms and added co-habitees as beneficiaries.
The mutual has extended its online, signature-free, trust for Whole of Life (WOL) applications, which enables a plan to be placed in trust as part of the online application journey. This, it says, will make the process ‘easier, more efficient, and, crucially, means advisers can complete the process in one go’.
The right trust for clients can now be completed online for WOL, Business, Relevant Life Plans and Personal Menu Plans, removing the need for an electronic or wet signature from clients, trustees, or witnesses.
Royal London also has launched a new discretionary trust form that is easier to administer and claim on.
The new form replaces four existing discretionary trusts, combining them into one. This means the same form, whether online or paper, can be used for both joint and single life cases, with or without critical illness. The online journey doesn’t require signatures from customers, trustees or witnesses.
In what the mutual says is an industry first, cohabitees have been added as beneficiaries. This aligns with Consumer Duty rules around improving customer outcomes and preventing foreseeable harm.
Trustee administration at claim has also been reduced by including payment direct to beneficiaries as a more prominent option, avoiding the need for trustees to register the trust if the claim is not for death, as well as speeding up payment to the bereaved.
Commenting on the improvements, Jennifer Gilchrist, protection specialist, Royal London, said: “Trust and beneficiary nomination developments are high on our agenda for digital enablement of advisers for new and existing customers. Having both solutions will help deliver the best outcomes for clients and their loved ones, especially when it comes to claims.
“This is particularly relevant to cohabitees, the fastest growing family unit in the UK*, who can be excluded from death benefits without the right planning in place. Including this group provides one of the broadest selection of beneficiaries in the market.”
*ONS data reveals ‘Opposite-sex cohabiting couple’ was the fastest growing family type over the last 10 years.
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