Friends Provident, a life and pensions company, has introduced new evidence requirements, and increased the limits for financial underwriting on life cover, life cover with critical illness and standalone critical illness cover.

The new initiative will help Friends Provident enable more straight through processing of applications. It has also enhanced its eSelect online protection platform to allow more information to be captured at point of sale.

Friends Provident now only requires financial evidence on applications for personal and business protection cases if the sum assured exceeds GBP600,000 for life cover or GBP350,000 for critical illness cover.

Friends Provident will only request a financial underwriting questionnaire to be completed if the sum assured exceeds GBP1.5 million for personal life cover or GBP1 million for business life cover or GBP600,000 for personal critical illness cover and GBP350,000 for business critical illness cover.

Mark Jones, protection products and actuarial manager at Friends Provident, said: Friends Provident is offering this facility online to significantly speed up the application process and make life easier for advisers. This is good news for advisers and customers alike.