Paul Shearman, Openwork’s mortgage, general insurance and protection proposition director, said: “We are committed to closing the protection gap and to do that we are constantly looking for ways to enhance our protection proposition.
“CIExpert is an impressive service that gives advisers access to tools and research that enable them to confidently convey the benefits of critical illness policies to their clients.
“With the constant flow of policy improvements that include new conditions and definitions, advisers need to be able to understand the trade-offs for their clients.
“CIExpert is based on detailed statistical research that is simple for advisers to use and presents the information in a way that their clients can readily comprehend.”
Shearman said he hoped making the tool available to his members would enable them to carry out detailed critical illness research in minutes and also improve their knowledge.
He added: “We are confident this will support the conversations advisers have with their clients on the very important subject of critical illness cover, and ensure more people take out the cover they need.”
Alan Lakey, director of CIExpert, said: "It is great to see CIC policies being improved but the time taken to understand new conditions and subtle wording differences is often a barrier to protection being discussed. We have focused on providing a service that takes the pain out of the process and focuses on a positive client outcome.
“Our existing members tell us that they have significantly increased their protection business by carrying out their research in minutes as opposed to hours and being able to present an independent analysis tailored to each individual."
