Shepherds Friendly has signed a partnership with Alula Technologies, which will supply the mutual with a low-code underwriting platform.
The Manchester-based mutual said the bespoke system can be quickly adapted as market conditions and consumer needs shift.
The main aim is to help Shepherds Friendly reach more people by improving how it underwrites, making it possible to offer cover to a wider audience.
The business also plans to add features like artificial intelligence (AI) decisioning, document fraud analysis and the ability to use external data sources in future.
These changes are expected to speed up real-time decisions and improve the customer experience.
Daniel Simpson (pictured), chief innovation officer at Shepherds Friendly, said: “As a mutual, a core part of our ethos is to strengthen financial resilience, and we believe adapting underwriting models in line with societal change and shifting market conditions is vital to increasing the uptake of products such as income protection.
“Our own research shows that only 14% of Brits currently have income protection; this is something we’re committed to improving.
“This new platform significantly enhances our ability to adapt our processes at speed.”
Simpson added: “By automating our underwriting, we can deliver faster, more consistent decisions and improve the overall digital experience for our members.
“In the future, it will also allow us to ingest external data sources into our underwriting processes, helping us to future-proof our operations and continue innovating.”
Patrick Ashton, solutions director at Alula Technologies, said: “The first phase of our work with Shepherds Friendly was aimed at meeting its current needs, but also at enabling it to adapt to the changing consumer landscape in future.
“We look forward to continuing to work together as the business grows further and hope our platform plays a role in ensuring the society’s long-term success.”
