Fintech Origo and four major providers have launched a new consortium which aims to transform letter of authority (LoA) processes, cutting process times from as much as 15 days to as little as 15 minutes.
The providers are Scottish Widows, Aviva, Royal London and L&G.
They plan to collaborate and share experiences of different ways to integrate digital LoA processes, so pain points can be eradicated, they said.
Each of the four providers handles significant volumes of LoAs across multiple products and teams. In some cases, it amounts to thousands of LoA requests each week and, collectively, approximately 500,000 LoAs processed each year.
Until recently, the requests would have been spread across multiple servicing teams with no way for advisers to track progress without chasing providers, the firms said.
The four providers said they have already taken a range of practical steps and actions to improve the LoA experience for advisers and clients through deep integrations with Origo’s Unipass Letter of Authority service.
Ed Parker, head of adviser lab at Scottish Widows, said: “It's great to see providers in this consortium and beyond investing in long overdue improvement to LoA servicing, with noticeable enhancement to digital experience, data accuracy and turnaround times.
“Our ambition is clear, to move all of our LoA servicing through Unipass Letter of Authority, with automation built behind this single channel to offer advisers LoA responses in 15 minutes, not 15 days.
“We believe this is how LoAs should be done, no more waiting and chasing for advisers, faster pace and better outcomes for clients.”
Progress reported so far includes introducing same day replies for advisers and automated client vetting, eliminating missing LoA information or misdirected requests which previously led to delays and friction.
The consortium has also been Introducing integration capabilities to allow automated client vetting and same day replies for policy information.
The firms said they are also creating a single digital entry point for sending all LoA requests instead of advisers having to use multiple inboxes and processes.
Scottish Widows extended Origo’s Unipass Letter of Authority across its business last September.