Underwriting Expertise at Partners Advantage
What Makes Us Different?

Tracy Hemmerle
VP, Underwriting

Many independent marketing organizations claim to offer underwriting expertise. But, at Partners Advantage we actually live up to our promise. Strong case management skills and good relationships with the underwriting staff at our life insurance carriers are very important. But our true understanding of impaired medical risk and our ability to research, position and discuss a client’s medical history “underwriter to underwriter” often sets Partners Advantage apart from its competitors and gives your cases the best placements and rates.

Partners Advantage has a full-time underwriter on staff. She has been in the insurance business since 1988 and has spent the majority of her career employed as an underwriter for an insurance carrier. Her experience reviewing actual life insurance applications and personally reviewing and approving those with impaired risk issues has given her a step up in understanding, addressing and obtaining approval on those who have medical challenges. We understand what is needed to clarify an issue and to improve upon an offer. So we are able to fully develop position and present your impaired risk clients professionally and in the best possible light.

The staff at Partners Advantage is always ready to help you determine the appropriate questions to ask regarding your client’s personal history and gather the needed information BEFORE the application ever crosses the underwriter’s desk. We encourage you to call your marketer to discuss your next challenging life case and put our expertise to work for you.

Our life staff members work hand in hand with our Underwriting department to provide questionnaires, feedback, and to assist you in setting realistic expectations regarding an obtainable underwriting offer. In partnering with you, from the start, we do our best to avoid unpleasant underwriting outcomes. But, we are always there to handle any underwriting challenges and to defend your case when an offer falls short. You truly have an underwriter in your corner to speak on YOUR BEHALF and to intelligently explain your client’s specific medical history, physical findings and financial details, based upon the facts of the case. Conversations based upon facts and findings are far more effective than those which are based upon emotion and a need for a “business decision.”

We find that we are often successful in obtaining a revised offer when our underwriting staff handles the push back on a challenging case. If taking the case back to the carrier, doesn’t result in what is needed in order to place your case, we will begin the process of shopping the case , given your approval, to find a carrier who can help us place the case.

Added Underwriting Attention for Larger Cases
All large life cases , currently defined as those with a face amount of $5 million or a target premium of $5k annually, are automatically given a higher level of expertise and handling with Partners Advantage. These concierge cases are automatically reviewed by underwriting and are given concierge case management assistance. We realize that while all of your applications are important, that your large life cases are extra important to your bottom line. Having your large life cases receive additional underwriting review and management gives you an advantage.

This extra attention often result is increased communication regarding what is still needed to obtain approval and to obtain explanations, details of findings discussed openly between the carrier underwriter and our staff underwriter, as well as the ability to keep you informed regarding the anticipated outcome of your most important cases. Extra attention and expertise leads to increased placement ratios and speedy service. Your Partners Advantage Underwriting Team works hard to anticipate your needs and to assist every step of the way with the underwriting process.

We encourage you to contact your Partners Advantage marketer with your next large case opportunity so that our underwriting team can then assist you with case development from start to finish. Contact our life team at 888-251-5525.