Iress today announced it has teamed up with CIExpert to launch a two-way, real-time integration bringing price and quality research together in one place. The functionality, which is exclusive to Iress, is available on Iress’ sourcing platforms, The Exchange and Xplan Mortgage. It can also be added to an advice firm’s own CRM upon request.
CIExpert is trusted by advisers to simplify the process of comparing critical illness policies on both cost and quality. The live two-way integration builds on a previous one-way integration from CIExpert into The Exchange, which has already helped advisers and brokers save time while making the best possible decisions for their clients when it comes to critical illness cover.
Iress’ Head of Business Development for Sourcing, Warren O’Connell, explains: “Iress and CIExpert are both leaders in our respective fields of sourcing and product quality research. This new collaboration delivers a depth of integration that is the first of its kind in the market and has been described by broker firm LifeSearch as “game-changing”.
“We wanted to go beyond everything else that we’d done previously or that already existed. To be able to deliver on that in just a little over 12 months is a great example of two research platforms not only listening to their customers but acting on what they say.
“We know how vital the comparison process is in ensuring recommendations match the client’s individual requirements. We also know it’s important to speed up both the recommendation and associated compliance processes to help advisers and brokers spend more time on value-added tasks rather than admin. Thanks to great collaborative working and a shared vision, CIExpert and Iress have made this a reality, paving the way for even more innovation in this space.”
Alan Lakey, founder of CIExpert, added: “The FCA’s Consumer Duty has increased the pressure on advisers to demonstrate they are recommending “fair value”. However, poor integration between systems has long been a major frustration for advisers, making this task unnecessarily complex and time-consuming. This collaboration builds on years of Iress’ expertise in integrating not only their own platforms but also a wide range of disparate CRM systems. By doing so, this innovative solution creates a seamless connection between systems, enabling advisers to evaluate client options more efficiently while ensuring that compliance support is centralised in one place. This represents a significant milestone for both advisers and their clients.”
