The Annuity Application Standard is now available – and we need your input

The Annuity Application Standard is now live. Built to simplify the quote journey for everyone involved, it's ready for the market to review – and your input will help make it better.

We’ve been collaborating with leading industry organisations (Aviva, Canada Life, Hargreaves Lansdown, Iress, Just, L&G, LloydsBankingGroup, LV, M&G, Prudential, RetirementLine, ScottishWidows, StandardLife and UnderWriteMe) to create a standardised integration that serves the sector.

Now the standard is available, we're opening it up to the wider market. Review it. Challenge it. Tell us what works and what needs to go further.

Making integration simpler across the market

Right now, it can feel a bit like everyone is speaking the same language - but with slightly different dialects. The same information gets translated again and again as it moves between systems and organisations, creating friction that nobody needs and errors that nobody wants.

A shared standard removes that friction at the source. Data arrives in the format you expect, not one you have to decode. Information flows cleanly through the process, with less lost in translation and fewer manual interventions to keep things on track – all while leaving every organisation free to innovate and run their business their way.

The Annuity Application Standard makes that possible. 

Advisers: spend your time where it counts

For advisers, this is about clearing the path between a guaranteed quote and a completed application. No more re-keying client details for the third or fourth time. No more double-checking whether something has already been entered or whether it still lines up. The information flows through cleanly, and you only step in when something genuinely new is needed.

That means fewer “have I already entered this?” moments, fewer avoidable errors, and a smoother experience for your client. It also means you can spend less time navigating slightly different processes for each provider and more time doing the part that matters - giving advice and helping clients make confident decisions.

Providers: scale with confidence

For providers, it brings a bit more order to what can otherwise feel like controlled chaos as annuity volumes increase. Instead of receiving the same data in slightly different formats depending on the source, you get something more consistent and predictable.

That makes it easier to process applications at scale without constantly engineering workarounds or manual checks. It also helps when bringing new partners on board - less reinventing the wheel each time, more building on something that already works. You still have full freedom to differentiate where it counts, but without the operational drag behind the scenes.

Technology suppliers: build once

For technology suppliers, this is the difference between building the same bridge over and over again - or building it once and letting everyone use it.

Rather than maintaining multiple slightly different integrations for each provider (and fixing each one when something changes), you can align to a shared standard. That cuts ongoing maintenance overhead and ends the "why is this only breaking for one provider?" headaches for good.

In turn, it frees up time to focus on improving your product and adding new features, instead of repeatedly solving the same integration problems in different ways.

We need your input

The standard is now available, but it’s not set in stone. It will evolve based on how it works for you in practice.

Your feedback is how we build a standard that reflects the way businesses actually operate, reduces friction in day-to-day work, and supports the way your organisation grows and integrates with others. The organisations who engage now are the ones who shape what this becomes.

Ready to get involved? Register on our website to review the Annuity Application Standard and share your feedback.