Financial technology company Iress has partnered with The Interesting Life Company to make its AI underwriting tool, the Interesting Life Agent (ISLA), exclusively available via The Exchange, offering advisers an early indication of underwriting outcomes at the point of sourcing protection products.
Originally launched in February, ISLA uses a conversational interface to guide advisers through medical and lifestyle disclosures, providing real-time indications of how these may affect underwriting outcomes. It also generates plain-English explanations, helping advisers understand and communicate decisions more clearly and confidently to clients.
By surfacing likely underwriting outcomes earlier in the advice process, ISLA helps advisers set clearer expectations from the outset, reducing uncertainty and minimising the need for follow-up queries with insurers.
Its availability via The Exchange, under a separate licence, places underwriting insight directly alongside sourcing and comparison tools, reducing time spent on individual case research and insurer checks, while supporting faster, better informed recommendations.
The partnership forms part of Iress’ focus on improving the protection advice journey and builds on recent developments, including its new Automatic Medical Underwriting Limits Indicator.
Iress’ Head of Business Development for Sourcing, Warren O’Connell, said: “We’re thrilled to be working with The Interesting Life Company and proud that they’ve chosen to make ISLA available through The Exchange. One of the biggest challenges advisers face is uncertainty early in the underwriting process, which causes friction and delays.
With ISLA, advisers can get the answers they need upfront, enabling them to set realistic expectations with their clients from the outset while reducing unnecessary full underwriting journeys. It’s a win-win.”
The Interesting Life Company’s Director, Andrew Wibberley, added: “Pre-sale underwriting can often feel like a maze, with advisers needing to interpret disclosures and seek answers from multiple sources. We developed ISLA to simplify that process, helping advisers anticipate outcomes earlier, explain decisions clearly and move forward with greater confidence.
We share a common goal with Iress of making protection advice more straightforward, so bringing ISLA to The Exchange was a natural fit. By making it available within a platform advisers already trust, we can help improve outcomes and enable more people to access protection.”
